


ACT III - From Awakening, Silence

by Sylvas



Series: Cinders of the Emblem [8]
Category: Fire Emblem Heroes
Genre: But mostly canon typical violence, Gen, Many additional minor characters, Some blood stuff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-03
Updated: 2018-10-16
Packaged: 2019-07-24 11:05:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 39,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16173797
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sylvas/pseuds/Sylvas
Summary: The Order of Heroes is led by a Summoner. An otherworldly hero foretold in the legends of the divine relic Breidablik, the Great Hero that the order believes will save Askr from its enemies.Kiran does not feel like she is any of those things. Kiran is some nobody very, very far from home, and as the war with Embla continues to escalate, so too does the weight of what Kiran is asking of her heroes - and the guilt of what she is doing to her enemies.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> If you've been following Cinders, you might be a little confused. "Wasn't Act III posted already?" Well, we've rearranged a little! See [this post](https://sylvasthesnowfox.tumblr.com/post/178683745842/some-changes-to-cinders) for context.

_Jun 7_

Back before joining the Order, Kiran hadn't ever really breathed in the outdoors. 

It was a funny thought; everywhere was outdoors now, everywhere was the ambiguous "wilderness" that lurked beyond the borders of hallowed city lights and paved streets, the infinite unknown that haunted you just over the horizon when you looked out from a country road. That mysterious, ambiguous 'place' was her entire world now. Her entire world... was...

Every once in a while since she'd shown up, she'd have these intense panic attacks, far worse than she ever felt back home but every bit as familiar - _how the fuck am I getting home?! CAN I even get home?! Isn't everyone worried about me? What's going to happen with my job?_ On and on and on. She didn't belong here. She was having a dream, or worse, some kind of bizarre, horrifying prolonged hallucination. Or hell, maybe she was dead. 

But tonight's was different. 

It didn't have the same streaks of anxiety demanding answers to questions that she could barely even begin to understand. It wasn't questioning the basis of her existence, and... really, it wasn't about her at all. It had started when she set eyes on Celica and Lachesis, collapsed in one another's arms beside the gate to the keep - the worming patterns of rotting flesh writhing like... like... 

Kiran shivered, hugging herself, taking a long, deep breath. The air was charred and ashen from the fires in the courtyard below her, but even still, she could detect the same taste that she remembered from the first time she'd set foot in Tellius. Bark and sap. Wet earth. It reminded her of deep, primal places in the Pacific Northwest that very few people ever bothered to explore. It centered her a little. 

"Kiran?" 

Kiran jumped, but paused to steady herself before turning around. Alfonse was approaching her only hesitantly, picking a delicate path through the rubble of the fallen guard tower, watching her with one of his usual unreadable expressions. Kiran had had some trouble learning to read everyone at first, and some - like Alfonse - still proved harder than usual; it seemed a little strange how much more reserved everyone seemed, but... well, they weren't really part of dramatic, performative meme culture, so... 

Thinking about it now, actually, Alfonse's expression wasn't quite as cryptic as usual. It looked kind of... worried. 

"I'm not holding up the strategy meeting, am I?" she gasped, in a moment of alarm and realization.

"I'm sure they're waiting for us," Alfonse said patiently, "but I've only just returned from Valentia myself." 

"Ah." Kiran tried to relax. "I take it the situation is under control there." Alfonse nodded, and Kiran sighed heavily, closing her eyes, slumping backwards against the wall behind her with her arms behind to prop her up. "That's good," she whispered. "That's... a relief." 

So they'd won, then. Embla's ploy had failed, and for her failure Veronica had suffered a possibly fatal wound. Kiran knew better than to say so, but hearing Kagero hesitantly explain that the venom on the dagger ought to have been dangerous enough to threaten her life was music to Kiran's ears. The royals wanted her alive, but at this point, Kiran just wanted her gone. 

"I heard some about the defenders," Alfonse added, a bit more lowly. "Will we need to delay until they heal?"

Kind of a strange way to ask about their condition, but, well, that was Alfonse for you. Ever concerned about the mission and the safety of his kingdom. Not that she really blamed him - it was very clear to Kiran now just how dangerous Veronica was, and how vulnerable Askr was without a full, standing military. He probably wasn't completely unconcerned with the Heroes' well-being and was just focusing on his priorities. Probably. "We'll know more after the strategy meeting," she murmured. "We should probably get inside." 

"If you're ready," Alfonse replied, gesturing behind him. With a little grunt, Kiran pushed herself forward from the battlement, and led him away from the crumbled balcony and into the keep proper. 

Compared to when Kiran had left it here with only nine defenders and a promise of a few more, the place was a hive of activity now. Until the World of Radiance Kiran had earned most of her success through superior mobility to Veronica's forces, but she'd made the number one tactical mistake - _don't get predictable_ \- and Soren, being the master tactician that he was, had readily punished her. So where before Kiran had operated with small, highly mobile teams that she would summon and unsummon from standby units as necessary, that had clearly proven insufficient, and now she intended to command a fully operational regiment from within the World of Radiance itself. She couldn't risk losing her foothold in this place again, especially... not after what it had nearly cost them.

Her heart sank, her eyes falling to the dusty stone under her feet, as she thought back to Lachesis and Celica. Those poor women. From the moment that Kiran had summoned each of them, she'd known something was wrong - they, like all Heroes, were tricky to read at first, but Kiran had spent a lifetime already surrounded by the symptoms of depression and was uncomfortably familiar with them by now - but knowing something was wrong didn't mean she had the power to help. In Lachesis' case, she worried often she'd made things worse. But what was she going to do? Just... send her back to her doom? Or give her false hope in her ability to change her fate? Both of those things just sounded... cruel. Unbearably cruel. 

Was this any better? Asking them to strain against the absolute limits of their power for a cause neither of them really needed to bleed for? 

Up until now, Kiran's anxiety had been all about herself. All wondering how she could even exist, how this place - or these places - could be real, how she was going to get home and what would have changed when she did. But those thoughts were lost deep in the back of her mind tonight, overtaken with guilt over what she'd allowed to happen in her absence. She idolized these women, and... no matter what kind of world this was to Kiran... this was reality for all of them. 

She didn't know, and wouldn't ever know, how badly Lachesis and Celica were suffering right now. But she had asked them to do it, and they'd done it. And that... Kiran didn't even know what to think about that, how to respond to it. This was not something she would have ever expected to happen to her. She hadn't ever expected in her life to be responsible for someone else's sins. But here she was... 

Here she was, the Great Hero of Askr. The Summoner of the Order of Heroes. 

She tried to clear her mind as she and Alfonse entered the war room. Anna was waiting for them, along with Minerva, Lucius, Hector, and Eirika - appointed leaders of various teams that had helped clear the castle of Embla's forces. Kiran swiftly took her place standing at the table's head; everyone saluted her, including Alfonse as he took his own place across from Anna, at Kiran's right side. She remembered feeling strange about their little bows and gestures before - it was wrong for them to be directed to her. She'd seen them before as signs of respect Kiran had not earned. Tonight, they made her feel sick. 

She cleared her throat. She'd had a lot of practice projecting her voice and speaking through anxiety lately. "Thank you for waiting, everyone," she began, trying to hide the fatigue in her tone. She needed another breath to steady herself - across the table from each other she saw Anna and Alfonse exchange worried glances, but didn't acknowledge them. "Firstly, Lucius," she sighed, "what's the status of the defense team?" 

Lucius hesitated, seeming to steel himself. He cleared his throat delicately before beginning. "Their conditions range from poor to critical," he said flatly. "It's expected that most of their fighters will heal without complication, with recovery times between 24 hours and one week. However, Genny, Celica, and Lachesis all show clear signs of arcana necrosis and extensive muscle tearing."

"I'm not sure Kiran knows what those conditions are," Anna said softly. Hector snorted.

"I don't think anyone knows what those conditions are," he grumbled. Kiran was already wincing, though. She knew what 'arcana' meant, and she sure as hell knew what necrosis was.

"Arcana necrosis is a condition that sets in when a mage uses their own body as a catalyst for a spell," Lucius explained patiently. Kiran stiffened. "Genny's case is moderate, but Celica's is life-threatening, and I'm afraid I need to return to tending her as soon as possible. I suspect their muscle tearing is a consequence of overexertion of the body, hidden by the effects of healing staves - Genny and Celica will heal, assuming no complications from the necrosis..."

Kiran let out a long, slow sigh of 'relief'. It was horrible, but it could be recovered from, and for now that had to be what mattered. He just had to be sure to get back to work quickly. "And Lachesis?" she added quietly. 

"And Lachesis," Lucius continued heavily. "By layering the effect multiple times, she must have fought far beyond the limits of her stamina until her body fell apart under her. Were she awake, I would be amazed if she could move at all, or speak over the pain. I doubt she will die, but I don't know much more than that. She could recover after a few weeks of intensive care, or she might never walk or hold a sword again." 

Anna and Alfonse again exchanged glances, though this time with pale horror. Kiran felt like she might vomit. She waved her hand to him as gently as she could without giving away her trembling. "Do your best," she managed, and Lucius nodded, bowed and hurried out without another word. She tried to take another deep breath, and continued: "We will put our trust in our healers for now." (Better that, than continuing to panic about something out of my control.) "Eirika - can you give a report on Embla's forces?"

Eirika nodded. Her face was pallid, too, and she still bore fresh wounds from Valentia - but she drew herself up despite. Kiran felt herself withering, her guilt rising, as she watched and listened. "Veronica was able to warp herself out of the castle and to the center of her formation," Eirika reported, her voice stern and dutiful. "We didn't get a clear visual of her thereafter, but she must have escaped with her forces back into the rift. Per your orders, we stopped at the valley border."

"That's good," Kiran murmured. "They all went that way?" Eirika nodded. "Then the castle is likely clear for now. Hector?"

"Well, the outer wall's a wreck like I've never seen before," Hector grumbled, "but all in all the place is pretty sturdy, more than enough for a military outpost. We'd want to repair the gate and the breached section, but that could probably be managed in a day or two. Outside of that, it'll serve our purposes fine." 

"That's good." Kiran allowed herself another tentative sigh of relief, before turning at last to Minerva. "That brings me to perhaps the most important question of all," she continued. "What were you able to learn about the rift in the sky?" 

This, she could ask with somewhat more impunity. Because this felt like a Game Mechanic. It felt like something she'd seen somewhere before, some form of magic that could be reasonably explained, just like the tomes and the dragonstones and all that. It was something she hadn't ever encountered in a Fire Emblem game before, sure, but that was fine. Breidablik was the same way. 

"Very little," was Minerva's quiet answer. "It appears to follow no clear pattern, and the land appears to transition smoothly from one side to the other. However, the skies and wind conditions are clearly different."

Kiran narrowed her eyes. "You... flew into it?"

"No," Minerva replied, "we flew near, and observed the movements of the clouds on either side of the rift. Wind speed and direction are clearly not the same."

"That sounds like the Tempest," Alfonse said slowly, grimacing. Kiran nodded absently, turning to face him. "To be able to invoke it requires a deep mastery of dark magic," he explained, "not to mention control over the Gates themselves. It's safe to assume Veronica is directly responsible."

 _Ah good,_ Kiran thought dryly, _it has a name._ "What exactly _is_ the Tempest?" 

"Any intersection between worlds that are supposed to remain distinct is classified as a Tempest," Alfonse replied. "They're very unstable, such that you sometimes cannot tell where you're going to end up when you walk in a straight line between two places you remember very well. Sometimes things that shouldn't be possible will happen, and sometimes outcomes that you remember being certain will have been undone when you weren't looking. We don't know how it works, but it's clearly a phenomenon that disregards even the most basic laws of reality."

"And that is how she found Zelgius," Kiran said dully. "Through a Tempest." Her anxiety was rising up again, but at this point she felt so drained it could barely even muster enough adrenaline to stir her heart. Of course, Veronica now had access to a theoretically infinite number of Heroes, including those that should have perished within their own timelines. Honestly - if Kiran allowed herself to imagine this whole 'Tempest' idea outside of the context of some video game, and instead to consider its repercussions in reality - why stop at "Heroes that died"? Why not go further into "Heroes that shouldn't be possible?" The more she thought about this, the more she hoped Veronica just died from her poison. 

Anna and Alfonse had gotten into some soft conversation during Kiran's pause, and as she shook herself free of it, she cleared her throat to quiet them. "Let's focus on an immediate plan first," she murmured. "Hector, take whatever resources you need in the morning to get the castle fixed. This is going to be our base of operations until Tellius is liberated, and we need to be sure we don't waste our defenders' sacrifice getting this place taken over by being sloppy now that we've driven Veronica back." 

"Hear, hear," Hector grunted, his eyes flashing angrily. It brought a little smile to Kiran's face - to imagine his self-righteousness, his protectiveness, giving him such a sense of anger. She hoped she was understanding him right, and not just projecting some false understanding she'd built of him from 'fiction'. "Can't promise it'll be pretty," he added, "but it'll get done."

"That's all I ask." She nodded and turned to Minerva. "Can you and the Whitewings set up a perimeter around the local edge of the Tempest? Some sort of rotating patrol. If you need any additional fliers, I can find more -- "

"The Whitewings and I can handle it," Minerva said calmly. "Rest assured, if anyone means to attack, you'll have plenty of warning."

"Do you think they'll come back?" Eirika added nervously. "I know we have to be cautious either way, but... I had hoped that we had bought ourselves some more time." 

"I had hoped so too," Kiran murmured, her eyes narrowing. "Veronica's wounded and her forces have scattered - we should have a momentum advantage right now, but..."

"You're right," Alfonse added, his voice higher and sharper, even shocked. "Kiran - we have a chance to take the offensive to Embla. If we pressure her now, she'll be forced to escape to her own realm, and we can unbind this world easily and reduce her forces to just Emblian recruits. With only them to work with, the Order of Heroes will surely be enough to keep Askr safe."

"That sounds a little ambitious," Anna said lowly, but Kiran shook her head slowly, looking up at him, brow tight.

"It's a fairly low-risk strategy," she was saying. "We have such a firm grip on this world and Veronica's only got this battlefield to fight us on. We've got this fortress to fall back to if anything goes wrong. I think he might be right. If we really want to push her back, this might be the best chance we get."

"Veronica's poisoned, too," Alfonse added, now sounding almost excited. "There's a chance that, with her strength failing her, she might not have her full capacity for magic - she might lose control of her Heroes or even be unable to escape Tellius before we reach her. We could end the war with this one offensive!"

Kiran took a deep breath, and turned to Eirika. Eirika's eyes snapped to hers, as well - she had been watching Alfonse. They were wide and the blue was sharp, but... faint. Kiran's question was already written on her face, it was too late to take it back, even as it withered and died in her throat long before she could ever give it voice. "My brother and I will be ready to ride at your order," Eirika said firmly, but her voice cracked, not from emotion but fatigue. She shook her head fiercely, aware of the breach in her strength. "I'll prepare the rest of our unit. We'll be suited as quickly as you like." 

"That's good," Alfonse gasped. "Then with that - "

"No," Kiran said softly. "I'm sorry, Eirika, Alfonse, but we can't." 

Hector let out a huge sigh of relief, arching his eyebrows for a moment; Minerva tossed her head, and Kiran thought she maybe even caught a sigh on the wyvern rider's lips, too. Eirika, however, hung her head. Disappointed. "What do you mean we can't?" Alfonse gasped, more surprised than offended, but he seemed to take in the mood of the room just a bit late, and murmured, "Oh." 

"Eirika," Kiran continued, "I'm honored by and grateful for your enthusiasm, but please don't rush yourself. Take at least tomorrow to rest, and make sure the rest of your team does the same. You must all be exhausted. Hector - "

"We can fix the place," Hector growled, cutting her off. "Don't you worry about that. I'll make sure we get enough hands that nobody gets overworked. Alright?" 

"A patrol around the Tempest will be akin to a holiday flight, compared to the last few days," Minerva added lowly. "Spare us no further responsibility, Kiran. We shall keep watch, while you and the other Heroes gather your strength again." 

Eirika watched each of the others as they spoke, in turn, before sighing heavily herself and nodding to Kiran. "Thank you," she whispered. 

"I think this is the right move," Anna agreed, her voice bizarrely cheerful as ever. "Not to say we shouldn't be pressing the advantage, but we can't overcommit, either." She turned to Kiran, grinning. "Besides, you could use some rest, too." 

Kiran made to speak, but Eirika spoke first: "Yes," she gasped, "ma'am, you... look haggard. Please take care of yourself."

"Remember that we're at a loss without you," Minerva added quietly. "So you must take your own health very seriously."

Some distant part of Kiran wanted to be defensive, to assert that she was fine; another part of her wanted to recoil, to try to hide even, from the Heroes' concerned and attentive gazes - that was _Eirika_ for fuck's sake, quietly telling her to take care of herself, that was Princess Minerva of Macedon telling her to take her health seriously - but even that reaction just felt... faint. Weak and timid and pale. She really _was_ exhausted. 

"So," Anna continued sunnily, "we'll get things fixed up and take a good breather tomorrow, and reconvene tomorrow night to decide what comes next. That sound good?" Everyone around the table gave their quiet acknowledgements, and Kiran inclined her head and dismissed them. Alfonse stayed, and Anna hesitated to be sure there was nothing urgent to talk about before patting Kiran on the back on her way out. "You did great," she added, in maybe the most sincere voice Kiran had ever heard her use. "Rest up, okay? You deserve it!"

 

Then it was just her and the prince. 

'The prince'. Kiran almost laughed. How absurd. All of this was absurd. Months of it, now, and even still she wasn't used to it, not all the way. She'd just met with a legendary Ostian General, two princesses, a prince, and some bizarro otherworldly merchant goddess (Kiran was convinced Anna was somehow more than she seemed). How couldn't she see that as absurd? 

"I should apologize," Alfonse said softly. Kiran looked up at him, as if realizing for the first time that Alfonse meant to say something to her, privately. His eyes were on the table, though, his gaze soft and uncertain. She hadn't really seen an expression like that on his face before. "I should have known better than to press the attack with our forces in the state they're in," he sighed. 

"You're just excited for the war to be over," Kiran murmured. "So am I."

"There's no guarantee that it's over just yet," Alfonse countered. "Even if we were to chase Veronica down, she has many means to escape..." 

"And even if we make a perfect offensive," Kiran added, "this might be a trap. We haven't faced anyone with the same sort of tactical mind as Soren before." Alfonse nodded bitterly. "We can't just wait for Veronica to attack us again, but we can't be reckless, either." 

Alfonse smiled faintly. "It's good that we have you with us," he said quietly. "We're very fortunate." Kiran let out an awkward chuckle, turning away. "I mean that," he pressed. "You've demonstrated your talent as a tactician already. Your knowledge of all of the other worlds and their Heroes has been an incredible blessing for us. But more than all of that... you just..." He sighed, waving his hand towards the other, empty end of the table. "You have a way with them," he said. "I don't know how else to describe it." 

"I - do?" Kiran was so sincerely taken aback that she couldn't stop herself from asking. Alfonse seemed just as surprised as Kiran, and they regarded each other blankly for a moment, before Kiran managed to continue: "I-I mean, they're just all - like that, as far as I know. You know? They're all Heroes because, well, they're strong, and they do good things..."

"I don't doubt that," Alfonse agreed, as Kiran shakily trailed off, "but something all Heroes' tales have in common is that they rally around someone they trust to carry them forward through their cause. To be honest, Summoner... Sharena and I take very different approaches to the Order of Heroes. She's far too bubbly and sincere to make an effective leader, and..." He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Admittedly," he muttered, "I'm too stiff." Kiran nodded him on. She'd heard a little about why that might be already, and had no intent to antagonize him about it, nor to make light of it. "But you, Kiran... You're someone that they all trust. You're someone that they all believe in." 

"I-I don't know why," Kiran laughed weakly. "I'm sure you're just... exaggerating. It's just because I'm the one in charge, and they need someone to keep them organized, and it just happens to be me."

"It's you because you're the best at it," Alfonse said seriously, leaning towards her a little over the table. "It's you because you understand each of them, you understand not just what their talents and weaknesses are, but who they are as people, what motivates them, how to draw out the greatest of their strength."

Kiran tried to respond to that, but she didn't have any words in her throat, just some quivering protest. She could feel her pulse rising, jitters of anxiety building. 

"I've noticed," Alfonse said, more quietly now, "that you seem to be... um... lost, often. And that's understandable, from the way you talk about being summoned here. I wanted to ask you something in confidence, and I want you to know that I won't be offended by your answer, I just want you to be honest with me." 

"O-okay," Kiran stammered. 

"Do you..." Alfonse hesitated, chewing his lip. His gaze stayed focused on hers. She couldn't move. "As the leader of the Order of Heroes," he started again, "are you... loyal... to Askr?" 

Kiran felt a familiar surge of tension, awash and light-headed - yup, that's a panic attack - and she closed her eyes and held up a shaking hand, trying to breathe deeply enough to soothe herself. Alfonse was quiet, but she could somehow feel his concession. He'd wait. She repeated his words in her mind: _I won't be offended, just be honest. I won't be offended, just be honest..._

He was asking because he already knew the answer. He'd said all those nice things about her, _knowing_ what she was going to say.

"No," she admitted, laughing weakly. "No, I - n-not because I don't - like you or anything, but - "

"I think many of the Heroes feel the same way," Alfonse said softly, soothingly. "This isn't their home. This is some world they've never heard of. For them, the adjustment is not so difficult as it is for you, though I can't begin to understand why it's so different. But the feeling in the end is the same. This fight isn't theirs, but because of your sincerity and your desire to help, they've pledged themselves to it nonetheless." 

Kiran nodded faintly. Lachesis' and Celica's faces were burned onto the back of her eyelids. 

"This war is not going to get any easier," Alfonse continued. "You've been a miracle for us, Kiran. But if we're going to put an end to this and start looking for a way to help you home... We can't let up now. And we can't get complacent either, and assume that the end is in sight when we still know so little about what our enemy can do. Do you agree?"

"I do agree," Kiran managed, her voice still shaking, eyes still wrenched shut.

"Then," Alfonse said softly, "as someone who is walking this path beside you, as someone who has shed blood on your behalf, let me give you some advice." Kiran needed a moment to catch up to the end of that sentence - _shed blood on your behalf_ was not exactly a phrase that went down easy. She nodded once she had at least heard everything he'd said. "Tomorrow, focus on the reason you're doing this for us. I don't know what it is, and I won't try to tell you what it should be, either. Just find it, remember it, hold on to it. If you can do that, everyone else here will feel it."

"I already know why," Kiran said faintly, finally looking up, but Alfonse was holding out a hand to stop her. 

"I don't need to know," he said softly. "I have my reason to fight, and I won't stop, no matter what. Remind yourself what you're fighting for, restore your resolve, and, um..." He smiled weakly. "Please, for the sake of the gods, Kiran, get some sleep." 

"I napped yesterday," Kiran snapped, but she was deflating as she said it anyway. "Fine. I'll try my best." 

"That's good." Alfonse bowed gently to her. "Good night, then, Kiran. We'll meet here sundown tomorrow."

 

Kiran spent her rest day wandering the castle. 

It was kind of strange. She'd never been someone to enjoy walks. She used to sit inside reading or playing on her phone or computer or 3DS or whatever else, but she didn't _have_ any of those things here. She couldn't stand sitting around doing _nothing_ , she had to do something, and without her phone or any other music player, she wound up just... walking. Living in a world without music to drown out the noise all around had felt bizarre to begin with, but she was just about used to that part by now, at the very least. 

She'd have described it as quiet, at first. With nothing to listen to, everything felt quiet. But she knew now that was wrong; the noise was there, albeit very different in nature, and not quite so near to you. As she wandered, idly seeking out each of the defenders, she saw and heard a lot of things that she'd have missed if she were listening to music. Her eyes and ears and heart lingered on each. 

 

Caeda embraced each of the Altean Knights as tightly as though they were her own husband, the quivering in her relieved sigh giving away a little more than she might have intended. "I heard some horrible things last night," she sighed, as they stepped back from her. "I'm so glad you're alright." 

"I'm glad you are well yourself, milady," said Gordin, looking vaguely uncomfortable but grinning despite. "Besides, you're the one that we ought to be looking after. If something were to happen to you in our absence - " 

"Don't be absurd," Caeda interrupted crossly, folding her arms. "I can take care of myself, as you well know! And don't understate how much Marth cares about you. If he were to arrive and learn that one of you had met your ends here..." Her irritation was crumbling rapidly as she spoke, and with a heavier heart she finished, "He'd be heartbroken." And Kiran believed her entirely. That was the kind of person Marth was. 

"We will ensure that does not happen," Abel said calmly. "All of us from Altea will be here to greet him when he comes." Caeda smiled faintly, and nodded. 

"Est will be so relieved, too," Caeda sighed. "Did you get a chance to see her last night?" Kiran winced; Est was on patrol, on her orders. She deserved a chance to see her husband. She made a note to ensure that Est had a good break this evening. 

 

Camilla was in the main hall, surrounded by her siblings. Beruka was there. But Selena wasn't. Takumi and Leo were playing chess - no, shogi? - a table aside, but they had turned their seats to be able to face Camilla if they wanted. Hinoka was behind the Nohrian sister, massaging her shoulders; Sakura was beside them and Corrin was across from her, her hands covering Camilla's on the table's surface. "This place is beautiful," Camilla was sighing, watching Corrin's hands thoughtfully. "It was lovely to fly over, I thought. Certainly nothing like Nohr, but not like Hoshido, either." 

"It's very green," Hinoka agreed, smiling up at Corrin. "Kind of like Mokushu, right?" Corrin nodded in agreement. 

"There's a more jagged region to the south," Camilla hummed. "I don't know much more about this place than what I can see at a distance, of course... But maybe some day we'll be able to explore it together." Her eyes met with Corrin's, and Corrin showed a faltering smile, desperate for some kind of cheer, a reflex born out of some deeper feeling much stronger than Camilla's mere words. 

"Yeah," Corrin whispered. "When I'm better, maybe." 

"Maybe," Camilla agreed, smiling weakly back, feebly rolling her shoulders. "When we're both better." 

Kiran didn't have any siblings, but...

 

There was a secluded hallway she passed where, from many yards away, she saw Lucina and Severa embracing tightly in darkness. Lucina glanced up, aware of a watcher, and Kiran bowed her head slightly and took her leave. She didn't need to see any more than that.

She found Elise in the infirmary, sitting on Effie's bed in the knight's room - they didn't notice Kiran as she walked by, didn't notice her as she paused in the open doorway to listen. Elise was talking very fast. She was laughing a little wildly but there was a huge smile on her face, and Effie was smiling, too. There were tears on both their cheeks. 

She wasn't allowed to check in on Celica or Genny - they were both asleep. Apparently Lucius was still sleeping, too; Priscilla was the one to dutifully, and elatedly, explain that their conditions were both stable. "We can't be sure about anything yet," she finished, "but aside from needing a great deal of rest, it feels to me that they're likely to make a full recovery." 

"That's a relief," Kiran sighed. "What about Lachesis?" 

"Lachesis, we're not as sure," Priscilla admitted. "But she's looking far better after some rest and her first few treatments. If there are any complications, we'll know after her next examination tonight, and otherwise she'll likely recover, too. It will just take some time." 

"Is she awake?"

Priscilla frowned a bit. "Well, no, but... Someone came to visit, and insisted she be allowed to see her..." 

She showed Kiran to Lachesis' room; Lachesis herself was covered in bandages from shoulders to ankles, and her sleep seemed restless and uncomfortable. Beside her, holding her right hand, sat Eirika. 

"Oh," Eirika gasped, shifting as Kiran entered, making to stand. "I - "

"N-No," Kiran urged her, taken aback. "No, you're fine. I'm sorry to interrupt." Eirika smiled faintly, before turning back to Lachesis as though afraid they'd wake her up. "I just wanted to see how everyone was doing," Kiran explained. 

"I see," Eirika replied, sighing. "I think I've pestered miss Priscilla long enough for one day, so perhaps I should be on my way." She turned back to Kiran, her expression bittersweet. "I would hate for her to be alone," she said softly. "With no others from her world to wait for her to awaken..." 

"She has you," Kiran said softly. Eirika nodded. 

 

"Kiran," Eirika said softly, after they had been shown out of Lachesis' room. Kiran blinked and turned to her, attentive immediately. Eirika smiled at her. "Can I ask you something?" 

"Of course," Kiran said swiftly. She wondered if Eirika was okay. She had cleaned up well enough today, though some faint signs of her injuries still showed - but she still also seemed... vulnerable. Shaken up. Kiran had assumed, perhaps wrongly, that Eirika was mostly worried for Lachesis; she hadn't been summoned alongside anyone from her world at first, and Lachesis had been one of her only friends to begin with. Then again, Eirika also had some pride in her, and had taken to the fighting with an unexpected fervor; perhaps she was upset to have been delayed after all?

She was occupied enough in her thoughts, though, that she almost missed Eirika's question. 

"What were you known for, in your world?" Eirika asked. 

Kiran stared at her, completely nonplussed. Eirika smiled a little sheepishly. 

"I've spoken to some of the others," she admitted, "and, er. We all have... some manner of legends about us, particularly members of royal families. That's to be expected, but for an organization known as the Order of Heroes, it makes sense perhaps that we're being summoned because of the weight of those legends. Some others have mentioned that you were the first Hero to be summoned, but we all know so little about you, and... I wondered if you'd be willing to share a little."

Kiran was imploding. Eirika was asking about her. Shyly? Why was she being shy? What was going on? Kiran had to say something, she couldn't just stand here like an idiot - "N-Nothing," Kiran stammered. "I... I wasn't... I was kind of a nobody." 

"I find that hard to believe," Eirika huffed, folding her arms. She was pouting? She was... teasing? What? "If you wish for me to keep your answer secret, I don't mind at all. I shared a secret with you before. I'm just curious."

"There isn't really a secret," Kiran mumbled, "I just - I..."

What was there about her that made her special!? She played a lot of strategy games, yeah! She was a huge fan of the Fire Emblem franchise, enough to have played through all of the games at least once, even the ones that hadn't been translated! But that hardly made her unique, right? And certainly it wasn't enough to make her 'heroic'. She was going to college to study history, which was hardly a commendable major. She had a pretty forgettable workstudy job. Nothing outstanding. What was Eirika even asking her about? What was she supposed to say?

"I don't really understand why I was summoned myself," Kiran finished lamely, laughing awkwardly. "I... just kind of appeared here. I can't think of anything really unique about me. Honestly, I feel kinda like I don't belong." 

"Oh," Eirika said, somewhat crestfallen. "That... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable... but to be honest, that really... surprises me. I always thought that you, compared to the other Heroes, seemed most natural here in Askr." 

"Natural?" Kiran said, blankly. 

"Perhaps that's not the word." Eirika frowned. "I just mean... you know so much about everyone, and you look after everyone as best you can. You seem to be a very natural fit for this position, the leader of an order of summoned Heroes from other worlds. It's not a role that most people could ever fill, but you manage it so gracefully. I thought you surely must have had some kind of experience like this before, but..." 

Kiran hesitated, but Eirika somehow picked up on her tension and looked up expectantly, smiling to invite her question. She couldn't help it - not after what Alfonse had said the night before, so conveniently mirroring Eirika's words. "This is a little weird to ask," Kiran admitted, "but, um - why... do you think I feel like a natural fit?"

Eirika tilted her head, curious, but then turned aside and rested a hand thoughtfully on her chin. "I suppose there may be others in your world with the same knowledge about us as you," she admitted. "But - to be a leader normally requires a strong conviction, and an ability to inspire others. And to be good at it requires an understanding of your followers and their strengths and limits." She smiled up at Kiran again. "It's clear you know us well," she continued, "not just in our histories but our abilities and shortcomings, and how to compensate for them. That is what your histories will get you. Beyond that, however..." 

She sighed, glancing back towards Lachesis' door, down the corridor behind them. 

"I think, until now," she continued, "it wasn't clear what the stakes were. We could see that the Emblians were taking over strange, alternate version of our worlds, that Veronica meant to weaponize our alternate selves against this kingdom that we hadn't ever heard of before, and that in itself is horrific. For us, the fight was to preserve the peace that our other selves had fought so hard for. That's how I felt, anyway." She turned back to Kiran, and smiled. "And of everyone," she added, "no one had a greater respect for that peace, or for the fight that it took to earn it, than you did."

"Greater than - than you?" Kiran blinked. Eirika laughed gently. "I can't - I'm sorry, I'm not sure I understand, but..."

"I think I know what you mean," Eirika said soothingly. "Yes, I would fight - and am fighting, and will continue to fight with all my strength to ensure the safety of Magvel. But I would expect no one to have any more passion in that fight than me, or perhaps Ephraim. That's what makes you stand out, Kiran. Your passion rivals my own."

 _Because I know how you feel,_ Kiran thought to say, but her throat closed up, as she began to understand where Eirika was going with this.

"I think, speaking for myself," Eirika continued, her smile growing more demure, "the idea that someone was fighting to preserve the peace we had earned out of our sight, and that they needed our help to continue to do so... that, by itself, that is a reasonable cause to fight for. But that person fighting for us is not trained, can't defend themselves, and is simply doing so because they love and respect us so much... That is inspiring, to me. It has made me feel like everything I'd sacrificed was truly worthwhile after all, that someone understood what I would do for my people, and agreed with me." 

She sighed briskly, hands clasped over her stomach. "I think many of us feel the same way. And that's why we see you as a rightful leader of the Order of Heroes - even if... or maybe even _because_ you don't see yourself the same way. You, as an outsider, as someone with no reason to do so, have pledged to fight for all of us. Because you heard our stories, and you believed in us."

 

"Your advice last night was good," Kiran said quietly. 

"That's good," Alfonse agreed, smiling at her as they walked. "I can feel your resolve much more strongly than before." Kiran nodded slowly. 

The sun was setting behind the keep. She and Alfonse were en route to the war room; he'd met her at the balcony again, though this time, there was no moping, no hesitation. Kiran hadn't lost her anxiety, but somehow, she pushed it aside more readily than she had in months... maybe in years. She supposed that's what resolve really was - the ability to tell your fear to fuck off and die, we've got _shit_ to do.

"I've been given a chance to affect the lives of the amazing people that inspired me," Kiran murmured. "I don't know why it was me, but ultimately, that doesn't matter. What matters is I'm not going to waste it." 

Alfonse nodded, satisfied with that, as they made the last turn and the door to the war room was before them. But surely he was thinking of Veronica's downfall, the restoration of peace across the myriad worlds, and balance being restored to the Dragon Gates and their management. That was all important, but Kiran wasn't thinking about it at all.

She was thinking about Lachesis' horror-stricken face as she realized she would never see her family again, about the bitter distance in Eirika's eyes when Kiran had mentioned Lyon for the first time, about Corrin's sad smile as she promised to spend time with her family when she was 'better'. 

_You heard our stories... As an outsider, as someone with no reason to do so, you believed in us._ But Kiran's feelings ran so much deeper than that. She didn't just believe in these people and their causes. She believed in their right to happiness. 

The Heroes of Fire Emblem deserved far better than what they had been given. They deserved better than for their stories to end just because the fighting was over, to turn their eyes back to a ruined world and a lifetime of grieving and rebuilding as the curtain closed behind them. They deserved love, family, small adventures and nights of laughter and comfort.

They deserved happily ever afters, and if it was at all within her power, then that was what Kiran was going to give them.


	2. Chapter 2

Kiran suspected that she was the only one among the Order familiar enough with Tellius to realize how wildly incorrect the geography was. Proceeding northeast from the Gallian border, Crimea was supposed to open into sparsely wooded plains until you reached the river; had they been traveling through actual Crimea, Kiran would cross the river, then follow its shores inland until they reached the passage in the mountains to Serenes Forest, which was her current objective. Instead, however, when they passed through the veil into the Tempest the terrain changed; grass grew sparse and trees grew thicker and more gnarled, and the shores of a river came within sight long before they ought to have. Looking south, one could trace the river's cascading path away from some towering floodgates, holding back a great lake at the foot of a mountain range that was far too close.

They were in Daein. Central Crimea had been replaced with southern Daein, and they were now walking into Talrega.

Behind them should have been Castle Nox, where Micaiah had put up what she thought had been a last stand against the Greil Mercenaries, only for time to be bought for her escape by a surprise visit from Kurthnaga. Even just the thought of such a thing actually taking place somewhere near her was enough to send chills through Kiran's spine. North of here, one of Ashnard's riders had ordered the floodgates be opened in an attempt to halt the Crimean advance during the Mad King's war. It seemed the plains had not yet recovered; the Talrega highlands were bare.

...Was that right? Kiran found herself puzzled by that. Hadn't Micaiah come through here later, in Radia- er - well, later? Or was this version of Tellius at a different point in time than the other one, and that was why Zelgius had still been alive here? Or...? 

She couldn't risk giving herself a headache thinking about that too much; flier scouts reported that Emblian forces patrolled the river's far shore, and there was only one bridge for quite a few miles. If they wanted to continue forward into Talrega, they'd have to fight over that bridge to reach it. Of course, anything beyond what they saw directly ahead of them was now entirely open to question, so Kiran couldn't really be entirely sure of where they were going, which made all of this harder - could they even be certain that walking in a straight line would take them to the Tempest's far side? If Kiran tried to maintain her original course, they'd essentially cross Daein north to south and hope that the Tempest ended right around where Flaguerre was supposed to be. But that would have to be a problem for tomorrow, and not today.

If Soren could stop them from crossing at Nox, the Order had two other options, and both were gambles. They could go "south" (actually east) towards the lake, either in hopes that the Tempest would change shape and they'd find another land route, or that they could find some way to sail across the lake, which would be fairly unlikely all things considered; even if they did that, they'd basically be walking along the mountains, and their progress would be so slow as to be pointless. Or, they could go "north" (actually west) towards the Shifu swamp and make their way through there, but even aside from the obvious discomforts of such a route, that would put them on course to pass Nevassa and the Greil Mercenaries could block the road with impunity unless Kiran was willing to assault the capitol itself.

They were both terrible options. 

That said, she still had her mobility advantage compared to a standard army, or even compared to Veronica's -- as long as she personally crossed the river somehow, she could summon Heroes on the far side and continue her offensive. She considered, more than once, attempting to cross in secret with the Askrian royals, but she wasn't an especially good swimmer nor climber, and didn't really want to gamble on a fight between her and the river if she could help it. Thankfully, everyone else seemed to think this was obvious, so she didn't really have to justify herself. That left her with only one alternative to the bridge: flying over. It'd be a simple enough matter to summon a pegasus knight or wyvern rider and ride behind them, cross the river, and be done with it. But without trees or fog to hide behind, they'd be exposed in the air, and it'd be easy to shoot them down with arrows or Bolting or Blizzard. 

Ultimately, any river crossing Kiran attempted would be made significantly more dangerous if she didn't attempt to seize the far shore first, which could only be done via the bridge. So she'd committed to a battle there already in her mind. 

Soren's best defense would be to destroy the bridge in advance. Kiran would then have to commit to a very disadvantageous air battle, or simply concede and go around. But he didn't do that; when they arrived, the bridge was still there. Maybe he wanted this battle - maybe he believed he could hold Kiran here, or perhaps he even stood a chance to kill her. It seemed a bit reckless, but sometimes recklessness was how you won wars. Calculated risks are still risks. In Kiran's mind, though, this came across more as a lure, enticing Kiran to attempt to take the bridge conventionally, by making it look simple - with some trap waiting to close in just out of Kiran's sight. Did he have laguz on his side now? Because an ambush by winged laguz would probably be the worst case scenario. 

With that in mind, Kiran decided her best course of action was to try to lure the enemy into an ambush of her own. When she and a small unit of bodyguards approached the bridge, Queen Elincia and a number of her knights rode forth, with Emblian defenders standing atop the bridge and Elincia's sky knights hovering on its sides, demanding they turn back. Kiran responded with sky knights of her own. She didn't intend to cross the bridge yet - not until she'd surrounded it with her fliers and could be assured no reinforcements would come. Queen Elincia had to be defeated for her to claim air superiority. 

But Elincia, well aware of this, refused to budge from the river's airspace. Hinoka and Minerva led devastating aerial hit-and-run attacks, swooping in for powerful single strikes and then looping out of range on Kiran's side of the river, daring a counterattack, but Elincia's knights held firm in their position in the river's center. For a while, this was all the battle was, as Kiran's archers waited out of range for the enemy to take the bait, as Elincia and her knights tried to defend from fliers that outnumbered them by double, trying to force them to commit to an extended battle over the water. 

Kiran watched this with growing distress. Elincia was losing. She was outnumbered and was being denied her chance to strike back. All she could do was take losses and wait. Even from many yards distance, she could see the pain on Elincia's face; the Queen knew she was losing, too. 

This couldn't be right, could it? 

What was Soren's plan? Whatever it was, she couldn't have defeated it this easily. He was waiting for something, but he couldn't wait for Elincia to take a fatal blow. If Kiran continued to pressure their defenders like this, Soren would have to act soon, or risk losing by default. What was he going to do, then? He'd already shown cavalry on the bridge, though they too were stalwart in defensive formation, throwing javelins or firing bows from their limited range, rather than trying to advance. Nevertheless, Kiran summoned Hector and Corrin to stand beside her as additional vanguard, preparing for a battle at the bridge's threshold if that was what Soren wanted. But even that felt wrong. 

If Soren had laguz in reserve, he wouldn't be letting Elincia take such heavy casualties for nothing. The Order's knights would have swooped in at some point, and Tibarn and his hawks would have dove on them or behind them from greater heights or something like that. Soren was desperate for Kiran to cross the mid-point of the bridge - to commit to a fight within range of the far shore... so that Elincia could hold the fliers in place while they were bombarded with ballista and magic, presumably? It was such a rote defense plan, but devoid of any other trump cards, it was probably Soren's best bet. 

And if that was all he really had access to... then he surely meant to destroy the bridge if the battle turned against him. Kiran couldn't just wait for that to happen. 

She ordered her archers forward from the treeline, and her heavy infantry to take the bridge - just a small team, headed by Ephraim and Corrin, because Kiran suspected they'd be least likely to be in trouble if they were to fall into water. Alfonse, however, insisted he go as well. 

"Soren almost definitely plans on destroying the bridge," Kiran warned him, and he nodded, well aware. 

"We have to stop him before he can," Alfonse agreed. "We need to get you across, too."

"Once he's on the other side," Anna added, "I can join up with him." She held up her axe with a playful, jagged grin. "You know how this works by now, right?" 

"I don't know about this," Sharena said nervously. "Brother, are you going to be okay if the bridge collapses?" Alfonse nodded stiffly, but Kiran held up a hand to stop him. 

"You two get across with the first team," Kiran said sternly. "I can ensure they won't destroy the bridge on you. If you push them back from the shore, Elincia will have to fall back, and we'll have our chance to cross."

"How can you ensure that?" Sharena said blankly, clearly surprised. Alfonse seemed confused as well, but shook his head. 

"I'm trusting you," he said firmly, smiling. "I'm on it, Kiran!" 

"Be safe," Kiran snapped, as he turned to join the forward line. She shouted up to Hinoka above, and Hinoka paused and glided down some to hear her. "The archers are moving up," Kiran called. "Get behind Elincia's formation and force her towards our shore." 

"Behind them?" Hinoka gasped. "Aren't you worried about enemy arrows - ?"

"You need to hold Elincia directly over the bridge," Kiran said firmly. "They can't destroy the bridge from range with Elincia still flying over it. As long as you keep her there, they can't safely attack you, and we can get our troops to the far side." Understanding dawned on Hinoka's face, and she grinned as she readied her spear again with a flourish.

"You got it," she barked, turning her attention skyward again. "Cluster up! We're taking the fight up close! Follow me!" 

 

Soren winced. The Order had played this battle almost exactly perfectly. 

If they'd tried this from the beginning, Elincia would have been able to scatter and outmanuever their fliers even with smaller numbers, and in the worst case Soren could still just drop the bridge from range. But by whittling away at her numbers first they'd ensured that she couldn't fight them off and reposition. Bolting or Blizzard casts would have to go through the remaining Crimean air corps to strike the bridge, and with their grounded defenders being pushed back from the bridge on foot, they wouldn't have time to get in range with conventional magic either. 

He knew from the start this was not a likely battle for them to win. At best they stalled for some time. And given such odds, he'd rather have just destroyed the bridge and be done with it, but...

"There!" Veronica rasped beside him. They stood on one of the cragged hillsides just behind the shore; from here they couldn't see the far shore very well, but they could see the battle in the sky very clearly, and - of course - the bridge crossing itself. Crimean defenders had retreated from the bridge, and at the front of the Order's advancing line was - judging by the patterns on his armor, that was the prince of Askr. "No!" Veronica shouted, as he set foot on the far side. "You're supposed to - "

"Elincia was flying just above the bridge!" Ike snapped beside her. "If we'd destroyed it then, she would have died!" Soren sighed heavily, pressing his fingers into his temples, trying to shut the argument out before it happened. It didn't work.

"How dare you talk back to me," Veronica hissed back, but her anger only sent her into a coughing fit. "I," she wheezed, "am your master! You do... as _I_ say!" 

"No offense, your highness," Soren said softly, "but had we taken the safer approach, the Order would not be crossing the shore now and we would have twenty pegasus knights instead of five." He didn't look up, but he could hear Ike gesturing angrily to him in agreement. 

"We want these people out of our world just as badly as you do," Ike growled. "This is Soren's job! Don't tell him how to do it!"

"This is _my_ job," Veronica rasped, still quivering with rage even as her voice threatened to fail her; she fell into another coughing fit again, but as Soren glanced over to them Ike stumbled aside and Veronica latched onto Soren's robe sleeve. Behind them Xander had started forward, face torn between a stinging grimace and earnest concern, but she paid him no mind. She looked up into Soren's face, showing a puffy-eyed glare full of rage and spite, teeth clenched. 

"Destroy the bridge," she hissed. "That's. An. Order." 

Soren turned back to the battle. Against his will, he could feel power building in his mind, his hand dropping to lift the Blizzard tome by his side. The Order had sent a second detachment of Heroes across now. Emblian defenders were holding in a tight semicircle just beyond the threshold of the bridge, but it was still enough that if their summoner walked across... 

"Ilyana," he shouted, unbidden, and yet he accepted it readily. There wasn't really much else he could do. "Destroy the bridge." 

"No," Ike gasped. "Veronica, stop this!" Soren dully appreciated that he didn't try to stop Soren directly. It wouldn't work. Soren was bound to obey Veronica's direct instructions whether he liked it or not. It was some power of Elivagar, as near as they could tell. Across the road from him Ilyana was raising her Bolting tome, as well... 

Soren wondered if Elincia could see them. Had the skies been clear, surely, she would clearly see them beginning to cast; as it was, she'd have to find a line of sight through the defenders crowding around her. It wouldn't change her fate to know it was coming, though. So maybe it was better she didn't.

 

Kiran spotted the twisting clouds seconds too late - she shouted for the fliers to retreat, whipping Breidablik from her belt and lifting it to unsummon anyone she could before the magic hit. 

Bolting struck first, blinding everyone on either shore that had been watching the bridge directly - when Kiran looked back, trying to blink spots from her vision, she saw a rising fire at the bridge's center, only for the bridge to be crushed under a massive hulk of ice dropping from the sky seconds after. A twelve-foot gap now separated the bridge's crumbling edges. Knights and pegasi had tumbled out of the sky around it, some scorched by lightning, some bloodied by sudden impact. Scanning the air wildly, though, Kiran saw Hinoka and Minerva had eached successfully disengaged, and though she couldn't catch all their faces she counted the Heroes surrounding them to find that none were missing. By maintaining a ring formation, they'd given themselves enough time and distance to reach safety. 

Only Elincia and her fliers had taken the hit directly. 

"Oh gods," Sharena whispered, her voice faint. "Did they just... attack their own Heroes?!" 

Kiran sprinted towards the bridge. She could see the mercenaries regrouping on the far side - now outnumbering her attackers by nearly five to one. Anna and Alfonse were looking at each other with panicked expressions; as Kiran shouted for their attention they turned back to her, relieved. 

"Kiran," Anna cried, "I can get myself back across, but - "

"Unsummon them," Alfonse shouted over her. "Unsummon everybody, Kiran!"

Well, okay. Kiran winced, but nodded. She'd already been thinking that herself, honestly. "Are you going to be okay over there?!"

Alfonse nodded. "I'll be fine," he insisted. 

Kiran nodded again, and raised Breidablik with a deep breath. "No!" Anna gasped, but too late. This made the most sense anyway; Kiran's unsummon range was much greater than her summoning range, so she had no way to reinforce Alfonse on the river's far side, and if Xander, Ike, Soren, and Zelgius were all still within Veronica's employ, it'd be a simple matter to clean up Kiran's stranded Heroes and rob her of some of her most valuable fighters. Amid the confusion Kiran swiftly unsummoned everyone except the prince and the commander, over whom Breidablik held no authority; they exchanged glances again, Anna's painted with a shockingly sincere guilt but Alfonse's as sheer and unrepentant as ever; then Anna twirled into her cloak, her axe shining briefly before she vanished underneath its folds. 

 

Alfonse turned to face the mercenaries as they approached, sheathing his blade and setting it tidily in front of him. There could be no clearer demonstration of honorable surrender. 

He didn't put up a fight as the mercenaries retrieved his weapon and bound him. Soren left that to Ike. Their archers moved forward, preparing to fire on the far shore, but Soren doubted that they'd need to; the Order had already played this so cautiously, and with a clear emphasis on air control, that he was sure they understood that the battle was over now. They couldn't cross without being shot down, so they'd have to go around. 

Shinon alerted him to a woman standing on the bridge's far edge, asking if he should shoot. Looking up now, Soren could see her, too. He'd caught a glimpse of her a few times before, in skirmishes back when the Order had first invaded... her long, tumbling blue hair, the twisting patterns on the hem of her white robes. The Summoner, the Order's miracle tactician that gave them access to their Heroes and their strange ability to warp them in and out of battle at will. 

He was distantly reminded of another battle at a river crossing far away, when he and Micaiah had exchanged blows and soft, bitter words at great distance. But this woman - though nervous - didn't look weak and faint like Micaiah had at the time.

"We've already won this one," he said quietly, waving him down. He wasn't especially keen on testing the Summoner's powers. Instead, he approached the bridge himself, a hand on his tome. The Summoner stepped back as she realized she was being challenged, but didn't disengage entirely; she had archers on her shore as well, which were quick to step forward in her defense. So she had their loyalty, then? Or perhaps something else?

"You should stand back," Soren called darkly. "You're making my archers nervous." 

The woman nodded slowly, glancing downriver. "I'm sorry about what happened," she said. 

For some reason, that made Soren's blood boil. He didn't respond, though. The Summoner looked up at him, her expression morose, before turning towards her own forces and leaving the bridge. 

When he turned around, Soren saw Ike jogging up to him. "Oscar's already headed downstream," he explained. "There's a chance some of them survived." 

"Will our venerable goddess approve of a search and rescue, I wonder?" Soren made no attempt to hide his bitterness. It struck him that the Summoner's willingness to admit defeat would make it much easier to sweep the shore for Elincia and her knights safely - something which only made him angrier. 

"If we finish before she orders us to stop, I doubt it'll matter," Ike replied irritably. "We can't abandon her."

"Of course not," Soren snapped, waving him forward. "Hurry! She'll be waiting!"


	3. Chapter 3

"Well, that was a disaster," Anna muttered. 

They were marching east now - Kiran had not hesitated to give the order to move. She knew Soren would leave them alone as long as they went separate ways, and they couldn't afford to lose time if they hoped to cut off Veronica's control of Tellius before she regained her health and could repel them. They had to move as quickly as they could now.

Thankfully, Kiran had gotten a _lot_ of exercise in over the last few months. Her first few deployments had been nothing short of hellish, but her legs were much more accustomed to long marches now, and her figure had slimmed down and tightened up considerably. Some part of her hoped that she'd still look this hot when she went home. It was nice marching along with a larger gathered army, as well, instead of just her and the royals hiking around foreign worlds - it felt a bit more important, and there was a bit more energy, even if the general mood was dark and stormy at best.

"Father is going to be so furious," Sharena mumbled. "I hope they don't hurt him... I'm sure the Heroes would never, but..."

"But they wouldn't ever drop Bolting on top of Queen Elincia, either," Kiran growled. "That's not the problem." Kiran was not about to get any less salty (that certainly wasn't a word she'd used in a while) about her defeat any time soon. That should have been such a clean win. Alfonse and Anna were already on the far side, Elincia was trapped in the air above the bridge, Kiran had been just about to walk across herself... and they sacrifice Elincia, in effect, just to capture one person. They couldn't have been so desperate as to just try to guess when Kiran had been crossing, could they? 

"Alfonse told me before that the Heroes of these worlds aren't the ones from our histories," Sharena said shakily. "But even so..."

"That was a move made in desperation," Anna hummed. "Which at least means we have them cornered." But Kiran shook her head.

"Soren doesn't make desperation plays like that," she said firmly. "Not like _that_. That was not Soren's call, that was Veronica's." Which meant that, in the future, she had to be ready not only for Soren's tactical genius, but also Veronica's wild impulsiveness, particularly as she became more distraught and, in all likelihood, more deeply ill. That was a dangerous combination to try to predict.

According to Kagero's description of the effects of the poison, if Veronica survived - a large, glowing "If", but the other royals seemed fairly certain she would - she'd be very sick for several days, likely bedridden, but apparently not bedridden enough to keep from giving orders. Poison wasn't something that usually lasted very long; it would do its damage and then work its way out of Veronica's system, and though it might take her some time to recover her full strength, it didn't give them a very long opening to take advantage of. 

"I'm guessing we'll be at the lake shore by nightfall?" she muttered, turning to Anna, who nodded with a little smile. "Once it's dark, we'll have the Whitewings fly us over the lake, then we'll climb down from the floodgates on foot and find somewhere safe to hole up out of sight. We can rest there while everyone else gets some sleep back at the castle, then I'll summon everyone in again in the morning and we'll continue our march north from there." 

"If you can just fly us over the lake," Sharena said slowly, "why'd we fight over the bridge at all?" 

"Ordinarily," Anna hummed, "they'd be watching for something like this, but I think Kiran expects their attention to be occupied downriver, in case Elincia survived and was swept away. They can't go down to the swamp and then come back before nightfall, so it would just be Embla's own guards to deal with at best..." She nodded approvingly. "Probably the best we can do right now."

"Kagero?" Kiran glanced to her other side; Kagero was walking smoothly beside her, though the ninja almost certainly hadn't been there before Kiran had asked. Even after all this time Kiran still felt an internal surge of delight and awe at Kagero's very existence. Ninja were so goddamn cool. "Could you cross the river ahead of us and scout for archers?"

"Certainly," Kagero agreed. Thank god Kiran had _one_ spy, at least. 

"Do you think it sounds like a good plan?" Kiran added more softly. Kagero regarded her with a sort of curious surprise.

"Given the care you are taking to ensure you won't be spotted, it seems to be a reasonably safe choice," she replied. 

Kiran smiled faintly, nodding her appreciation. "Soren probably won't be fooled," she sighed, turning back to Anna. "We'll need to be ready for confrontation on the road."

"Once we're out of the shadow of the floodgates, we'll be in good shape," Anna said calmly. "We've got more fliers and plenty of able scouts, and we can move more easily on foot than they can on horseback if we stick close to the mountains. Just a matter of getting there." 

"And then navigating the Tempest," Kiran muttered, "and figuring out where Alfonse is, and where Veronica's power is bound, which are almost definitely two different places, and then taking both of them before Veronica recovers enough to counterattack."

"Well, anything's more daunting when you say it all at once like that," Anna pouted. 

 

Throughout the course of the march, Anna and Kiran relayed their plan to the other Heroes, and as they became more certain they were not being tracked, Kiran unsummoned the majority of them until only Hinoka, Minerva, Palla, and Kagero remained. 

Slowly, the cracked, grayed sky above darkened into an indistinct inky blackness, with faint stars pulling at the edges of Kiran's vision as though they were illusions, and not wholly there. By the time they reached the lake's shore the sun had fully set, and visibility was already at its lowest. Kiran noted, with some discomfort, she could see no sign of clouds, nor the moon. There was almost no light at all. 

Once the order was given, Kagero departed first, striding out of sight within seconds; she was gone for several minutes, as Kiran tried to make out any shapes at all in the landscape to guide herself by. The others didn't seem to be any more comfortable with it than she was; Kiran wasn't exactly an expert in the supernatural, but this depth of darkness certainly felt wrong. Eventually they heard footsteps approaching, and Kagero quietly announced her presence before stepping back into their field of view. 

"As you can imagine, it's difficult to be sure," she said quietly, "but I didn't see any watchers below the floodgates, nor did I see the gate's attendants, though they may simply be inside. There is definitely no one keeping watch over the lake side of the gate. If you take a path over the lake's edge and drop down on the far side, I doubt you'll be seen at all."

"It'll be tough to fly low enough to navigate with this level of visibility," Minerva said quietly. 

"It may be best to use torches," Kagero agreed. "You'll have a higher risk of drawing attention from the gate's attendants if they're still awake, but..." 

"Oh, Fensalir can cast light," Sharena gasped, raising her spear - a dim glow radiated from the gems surrounding its tip, giving them a small aura of faint light to see by. "It gets a lot brighter than this," she added, catching Minerva's grimace. "Just keep me in the middle and it'll be enough."

"Why have we been sitting here in the dark if your spear casts light?" Kiran asked blankly. 

Sharena looked at her as though she'd asked why Sharena didn't just fly across the river herself. "Nobody asked!"

"I'm getting uneasy waiting here," Hinoka muttered. "Sorry to cut you guys off, but if we've got a plan, shouldn't we get going?" 

So, Kiran bid Kagero good night and unsummoned her; the fliers mounted their pegasi again, then helped their passengers on behind them. The riders stayed tightly clustered together as they crossed, and Sharena - riding behind Hinoka, in the center - maintained a soft light, just enough to make out the lake's surface below them. Kiran, for her part, mostly focused on trying not to look down (heights had never really been her strong point), and also trying not to say or think anything weird about having her arms wrapped around Minerva's waist. It was really hard. It was pretty much impossible, in fact. But at least she kept her gay flailing on the inside. 

Once they touched down on the far side and Kiran had caught her breath on terra firma, she bid the riders good-night as well and unsummoned them, too. The three of them continued on foot for a little while, now descending into the muddy hills, before finding a nice rocky ledge to camp on, with their backs to a stone cliff face and the floodgates a good distance behind them. They didn't make a fire - thankfully it was cold, but not unbearably so - just laid out some blankets Anna produced from her 'tricky merchant god powers' that Kiran was _convinced_ she had, and settled in to sleep. 

Well, in theory. 

Kiran had been laying in her sort-of-vaguely-soft bundle of cloth for the better part of a half hour, trying to guess what sort of bargain Soren would try to offer for Alfonse's release - if any - and what he and Veronica stood to gain from Alfonse as a prisoner, when she heard someone shuffling along the ground beside her. She jumped, but even with the darkness as stifling as it was, she could still make out Sharena's hair and eyes looking up at her in alarm, before the princess sighed with relief. "Oh, sorry," she laughed, under her breath. "Sorry, Kiran. I just... uh, felt kinda... lonely."

"Lonely," Kiran repeated softly. Like... a child without a night light? Who was Kiran to judge, though, she'd used a night light well into her preteens...

"Well, it's just really dark and quiet," Sharena mumbled. "I'm not scared or anything, it's just hard to sleep." She laid down beside Kiran, and Kiran settled back in to her own spot, turning her attention skyward again. "You don't mind," Sharena added quietly, "do you?" 

"If something's wrong," Kiran replied, "it's okay to just say so." 

Sharena was quiet. Kiran smiled faintly to herself. 

"We'll get him back, Sharena. I promise." 

"Thanks," Sharena sighed. "I'm just really worried about him. And, to be honest, I guess I'm worried about Veronica and Elincia, too. Elincia seemed like.... such an awesome Hero, you know?" Kiran nodded sagely. "I didn't really get to see her up close, but I can't imagine what this has been like for her, or for any of the other Heroes Veronica has under her control..."

Kiran had been worried about that long before today, long before the World of Radiance had opened up at all, in fact. But being here put some extra weight on the subject. However it was that Veronica was controlling them, the Tellius heroes had experience with this sort of position before, and Kiran had been waiting anxiously for a member of the Dawn Brigade to show up for maximum tragedy for a while now. It almost felt like there was some reason it hadn't happened yet. If it were going to happen at all, now that they were trespassing through Daein... this would be the time, and it would be an understatement to say that Kiran was worried about it. 

Though, thinking about it now, she wondered how the Greil Mercenaries were handling this. 

"Alfonse has said before it's pointless to talk to them," she mused. 

"Yeah," Sharena agreed, her voice mournful. "I don't know why, though. They don't seem evil, they just seem like... they're doing what Veronica says, whether they really want to or not. Like they feel like they don't have a choice." 

"There's something I've wondered about for a while," Kiran added quietly. "In Valentia, Veronica's forces were led by Alm and Celica, right? You remember. But we have Alm and Celica here with us, too." Not like Kiran had never heard of 'alternate timelines' before. The whole deal with Fates - er - _what was that continent called?_ Kiran made a mental note to ask Corrin about it later - but anyway, the whole Outrealms and Astral Plane business hinged on the idea of alternate versions of worlds, so that much shouldn't be unexpected; more what Kiran wanted to know was, how much did Alfonse and Sharena know about it? 

Sharena hesitated for a bit before answering, and she certainly did not sound confident in her words. "I know there are different versions of the worlds where Heroes come from," she murmured. "And I know sometimes they're different in small ways. So I guess we must have Alm and Celica from one version of their world, and Veronica had different versions." 

"You guess?" 

"I was never very good at this stuff," the princess sheepishly admitted. "I've tried to get Alfonse to help me understand it, but I just haven't really ever got it all together."

"I'll have to ask him when we find him again, then," Kiran sighed. Sharena hummed in agreement, putting a cap on that conversation, before rolling over to face Kiran a bit too eagerly.

"So," Sharena added, a bit more energetically, "can we talk? Y'know, girl friends stuff?" Kiran turned to blink at her, alarmed; Sharena was grinning, albeit somewhat shyly. "C'mooon," she whispered urgently. "It's just us, and Anna, but Anna's a heavy sleeper unless you try to steal something. This is the first time we've had just-us-girls time since you got here! I wish it wasn't quite - y'know - because Alfonse got captured, but I'm still excited, you know?" 

"Um, right." Kiran smiled hesitantly. It would perhaps be an understatement to say that Kiran had not really gotten along with other girls her age for most of her life, but. That was then, and Sharena was not some prissy high school prep eager to assert her dominance over a weak, timid-looking freshman. "What... do you wanna ask?" 

Sharena squealed quietly, wiggling in place. "I wanna ask about you!" she gasped. "We don't have to talk about your world if you don't want, I can ask about - like - who's your favorite Hero? Is that okay to ask?" 

"Yeah, it's fine," Kiran laughed, blushing. "Um. Well... I dunno, I've always..." How the fuck do you answer this. Kiran caught herself partway through forming a sentence involving the word _femlords_. How in the hell would Sharena know what that meant? "Lord" meant something _wildly_ different here than it did in Kiran's internal dictionary. She couldn't even say 'main character'. They weren't stories, not anymore, not to Sharena. "I've always had a soft spot for women in power," she finally managed, after thinking it through for a few moments. "People like... Micaiah, and Elincia, Eirika and Celica. Women that face a lot of hardship trying to protect what's important to them."

"Yeah," Sharena whispered, narrowly containing her excitement behind a thin layer of reverence. "And they're so beautiful, aren't they? They're model princesses and queens. I used to wish I could be just like them, but - well, I'm not really cut out for a role like that, I think." 

Oh, no! Of course, Sharena would have seen them all as role models! "You're a bit different," Kiran agreed, "but I don't think that's bad. You're, um... you're really friendly and thoughtful, and... you have a lot of energy, and that can be inspiring for people, in its own way..."

"That's really sweet of you to say," Sharena giggled shyly. "But, I mean, having energy is mostly annoying for people, I know that for sure. I don't want to get on anybody's nerves, and especially compared to people like Eirika, I just... I dunno, I feel so childish. Here I am fighting a war, but I'm still basically - what did you call it, back when Eirika first showed up? Fangirling?"

"Please don't remind me," Kiran groaned, feeling her face burning. Sharena giggled. 

"It's just such a good word!" Sharena chirped. "That's kind of me for Eirika, too. And, well, Corrin and Lilina and Celica and Elincia, and everybody else... even the younger ones, Sakura and Elise, they're poised and - and smart, and... they just feel like real princesses. I always feel like I'm just faking it next to them." She laughed weakly, shaking her head. "I mean, listen to me," she sighed, "talking about 'fangirling' and how I don't really even know how the gates to other worlds work, when that should be my job as Princess of Askr, and all..."

"I dunno," Kiran hummed. "Maybe it's fine to let all of that stuff be Alfonse's job. Let him be the one that knows how all the gates and everything work, and you can be the ambassador. You can be the one that makes everybody feel welcome and understands how all the other worlds' cultures and histories and such work."

"Alfonse is already so good at that, too, though," Sharena sighed. "Okay, yeah, he's not as friendly as he could be, but - he's professional, right? He represents the kingdom well and all. I'm just..." 

"I think you represent Askr well, too," Kiran said pointedly. Sharena laughed. 

"I don't think my father would agree with you," she said, a bit coyly. "Did you know, though, he did encourage me to be part of the Order of Heroes? When Alfonse also wanted to join, he was not in favor - Alfonse was already involved in managing other parts of the kingdom, of course." She sighed, looking skyward. Kiran noted that her eyes remained bright, even as she expressed her doubts. It reminded her of someone - of several people, in fact, people Kiran had never met and would _probably_ never hope to meet, but that meant the world to her all the same. "But for me," Sharena continued, "I think he thought... this would be something I'd be good at. So I've tried my best, and even though I just don't really have the same aptitude for all this that Alfonse does, I've still really enjoyed getting to know all the other Heroes." She turned her head to the side, beaming. "Especially you!"

Kiran handled this a bit more gracefully than she expected. She smiled demurely and said, "I'm not really used to being referred to as a 'hero'."

"Oh, but you are!" Sharena gasped. "You came to us when we needed you most, and you've won some amazing battles against Veronica and Embla that I don't think even Alfonse would have been able to win without you. Somebody that saves others when they can't save themselves - that's a hero, by definition! Don't you think?"

"W-well," Kiran laughed shyly. "I.. guess so. But we haven't saved Askr yet." 

"Not yet." Sharena didn't cloud over even slightly. "But I know for sure we will. We'll get Alfonse back and put an end to this horrible war, and restore peace in Zenith and in all the worlds." She grinned at the sky, radiant with confidence. "I know we will," she whispered.

 

"I'm taking Veronica back to Serenes."

"Finally," Soren growled, "some good news." Xander glared at him, and Soren - a whole head shorter - glared right back. "'Her Highness' should have been resting long before this," he continued darkly. "I'm sure you knew that and I suspect she did, as well. She's only worsened her condition micromanaging us." 

"Soren, that's enough." 

Soren withdrew and turned his head away with a huff, eager to make his indignation known, but not so eager to disobey the soft-spoken wishes of the Queen. Glancing up and across the barracks, he saw that she had sat up some, but was still clearly nursing her chest - fractured ribs, according to Mist. Ike was sitting beside him, Titania leaned on the far wall watching Xander from under her scarlet bangs, and Mist had been pacing anxiously beside Elincia before Xander had walked in. Elincia's spirit seemed to have recovered some, at least, but something in her still felt like it was missing; even in her most vulnerable moments, there was a keenness usually present in Elincia's gaze that was gone now, and her presence felt too hollow and shy to belong to a queen.

"Please pardon me," he said lowly, "I didn't mean to disturb your rest." Elincia smiled faintly at him, before turning to Xander herself, clearing bangs from her face. Xander stood straighter while in her sight. 

"How is she?" Elincia asked, her voice quiet, but stern. 

"Faint," Xander replied quietly. "It's clear she can no longer stay near the front lines. I trust that your orders are nonetheless clear." 

"You just want us to keep the Order off of her?" Ike rumbled. Xander nodded.

"Answer me this, prince." Elincia's voice grew darker. "If we succeed, and repel the Askrians from our land, will Veronica tend to the people she has conquered? Will Crimea earn reparations and peace for the losses it has endured?" Xander hesitated. Elincia's eyes slitted, and she hissed: "Or will she continue to grind us to dust until she is satisfied?"

"You are defending something that cannot be saved," Xander intoned, though his voice didn't hold the same conviction as Elincia's, at least not to Soren's ears. "This world was doomed long before Veronica arrived, and your fates won't improve when she leaves. She has already made this clear, and I have already seen it with my own eyes." 

"And I'm just supposed to accept that?" Elincia whispered, her voice quivering. "That everything that I am, my entire identity, the sacrifices of my people that were made in my name, is all meaningless?" 

"I know of no alternative," Xander replied stiffly. "My condolences for the loss of your knights, Your Majesty. I must take my leave." 

Elincia did not stop him as he walked out. For a moment, a silence hung between them, broken only by the sound of the prince's footfalls, and Ike's steady breathing, heavier than anyone else's in the room. Soon, the armored boots had faded into obscurity, and they were left with only one another as company. 

No one spoke. Elincia took in a slow, long breath, gingerly curling her legs into her lap and wrapping her arms around them, letting out a trembling sigh into her knees. Mist delicately reached for her shoulder, but hesitated. For a moment longer they were still all quiet.

Then Ike pushed himself up all at once, reaching back to wave Soren up with him. "Come on." Soren rose without thinking, though he blinked in surprise as Ike led him away. 

"Where might we be going?" he asked, faux-innocently. 

"Want to ask the prisoner a few things," Ike growled. 

Prince Alfonse had been locked in the dungeon underneath the main keep, as was natural for a prisoner of war. Elincia had insisted that he be treated well, 'as we have not yet become savages', and he seemed pretty grateful for that. Kept quiet, too. For all that he tried Soren found it hard to hate the guy in a lasting sense, beyond the fact that they were mortal enemies. The key observation thus far was that he was very cooperative, and that meant that any "interrogation" actually held the potential to be very informative. 

Ike dropped two chairs in front of the prince's cell as Soren reached the bottom of the stairs; Alfonse himself shifted to his feet, standing just beyond the cell door with a look of surprise and anticipation on his face. Ike sat. Soren chose to stand behind his chair instead. Out of the corner of his eye, his saw someone creeping down the stairs towards them, careful not to be heard - Mist...? - but she raised a finger to her lips, and Soren hesitated long enough that the interrogation began before he could say anything. 

"We'd like to ask you a few questions," Ike began. 

Alfonse nodded. "How can I help?" 

"You are the prince of Askr," Ike said, "a kingdom that exists in opposition with Embla, in some other world somewhere. Yes?" 

"The world of Zenith," Alfonse said calmly. "Askr and Embla are not opposites. They were once allies and worked together to ensure peace across the realms under their stewardship. The Askrian royal family has the power to open gates between worlds, while the Emblian royal family closes them."

"Sure," Ike sighed. "Point being, you and Veronica ought to know how all of this works, because it's your job as the prince and princess of your respective lines." 

"That would be correct," Alfonse agreed, a bit more warily now. Ike glanced to Soren; Soren had already been considering where to pick up. 

"Princess Veronica claims divine authority over this world and its inhabitants by right of the tome Elivagar," Soren intoned, "a power which can only be invoked by members of the royal lineage of Embla. Is this true to your understanding?"

Alfonse bowed his head slowly. "Yes." 

"Elivagar does not give her the power to open gateways between worlds," Soren continued steadily. "That power belongs to the Askrian royal family alone." 

Alfonse's expression was beginning to show signs of stress. "Yes," he repeated, but now much more carefully. 

"Because you don't have the power to close the gates," Soren continued, "you're unable to stop her from entering worlds that you've opened gates to in the past, and are forced to fight her to repel her from them."

"Yes..."

"You do this under the pretense of freeing the world from Veronica's control so that it can return to its own peace." Soren narrowed his eyes. "However, that isn't possible, and you know it." 

Alfonse let out a deep sigh, clasping his hands behind his back. "I wasn't aware you knew so much," he murmured. "That's... unfortunate." 

"Unfortunate is a word for it," Soren agreed icily. "Since you seem to be aware of what I'm talking about, why don't you tell us what you know?"

Alfonse nodded faintly. "I have no reason to lie to you," he admitted. "I don't know for sure how Veronica has done it, or what other powers are at work that have allowed her to do this. But Elivagar's 'divine authority' does not give her the ability to command Heroes from any world arbitrarily. Only worlds which she, or the tome itself, have created."

Soren inclined his head. Alfonse nodded, understanding he was to continue, and began to pace just beyond his bars. "As their power is directly tied to controlling access to other worlds," he explained, "the Emblian bloodline is considered the warden of these gates, and it is their duty to safeguard the worlds beyond from harmful powers that surpass their understanding.

"To fulfill that duty, they created the divine tome Elivagar, a dark tome that presides over the space between possibility and impossibility. I don't know much about dark magic myself, and I don't know many details about the Elivagar's full power and function, but I do know that its primary purpose for the Emblian royal family is to invoke 'false worlds' that can be used to trap a malicious entity trying to invade. The bearer of the tome has absolute authority over the inhabitants of such a world. We haven't been able to find any other explanation for why Veronica can command such a wide variety of Heroes from so many different worlds, so we assume that this is the power she's been using."

"Which would imply," Soren growled.

"That this version of the World of Radiance," Alfonse sighed, "or rather, this version of Tellius, isn't real. It's a trap manifested by Veronica, which she's using to procure 'loyal' soldiers for her army from nothing." 

"All of this to say," Soren continued, "that Veronica is no ally of ours, but we must obey her as - in essence - our 'creator'. Any memories that we have prior to her stepping into this world are fabricated, and any meaning that the world and its people has to us is similarly fake, since we're just copies of 'heroes' that are supposed to look, sound, and fight like the genuine article." 

"That's correct." Alfonse squared his shoulders. "She told you this?"

"She gave us some information," Soren muttered. "We've had to piece together the rest ourselves." 

"So you're on a mission to liberate worlds from Emblian control," Ike continued slowly. "But this world was created by Veronica's tome. If you somehow remove her influence from it, what's left?" 

Alfonse was quiet. Soren stepped towards him, silently daring him to answer. 

"Nothing," the prince whispered, staring Soren in the face. 

"Nothing," Soren repeated. "Is that so. Why don't you explain what you mean by that?"

"Without the power of the divine tome to stabilize your world's existence," Alfonse said softly, "it will persist for perhaps a few days before vanishing into the aether whence it came."

"So in essence," Soren hummed, "we are trapped between a princess that wants to enslave the people of our world, and a prince that wants to annihilate it." 

Again, Alfonse was quiet. 

"Isn't that what will happen? This world will _end_. Isn't that what you just said?"

"Yes," Alfonse breathed. "When we defeat Veronica and drive her back to Embla, this world will end."


	4. Chapter 4

Kiran had finished summoning in the Order's current active forces by around midmorning. The Whitewings took to the clouds to scout their surroundings, while she and Anna reviewed their progress on a map of Tellius that the Heroes had brought them. When the sisters returned, she made a point of asking Kagero to invite all three of them to report their findings, so she was a little disappointed when only Palla turned up. 

"Are your sisters alright?" Kiran asked, meaning only to be courteous. When Palla stiffened, her disappointment began to change to concern. 

"They're well," Palla answered rigidly. "But, um, indisposed."

"Did something happen?" Anna asked, clearly rather startled as well. 

"Nothing happened," Palla replied, "but... what we found was... disturbing, to say the least. Summoner, do you know this land well?"

"As well as I know any of them," Kiran said slowly, now straightening up from the map table. "There shouldn't be anything particularly unusual about it..." 

"To outward appearances, it seems normal," Palla agreed. "But the people... have all turned to stone." 

" _What?!_ " Sharena rounded the table in alarm as though under attack. Slowly, Kiran beckoned Palla forward, her thoughts racing. 

"You're certain," she said softly. Hardly even a question. Palla nodded.

"Est and I took to the ground to confirm it," she said. Up close and speaking more softly, Palla's voice betrayed her frayed nerves more readily. "Many of them had turned towards the south, and their faces were frozen in expressions of... of horror, or shock. Something came for them from that direction..." 

"The light of the Goddess Ashera's judgment?" Anna said faintly. "Is that - could that be it?" 

"You were up close to the statues," Kiran continued. "How old did they seem to be?" 

Palla balked. "How... old?" She bit her lip, turning away, an arm crossed over her stomach while the other held her chin. "I... I wouldn't say they were very old... they weren't cracked or worn, they were frozen in... in very intricate detail. I saw a bird's nest on one, tucked under an awning..."

Kiran looked up. The sun was still rising, but its arc was high and nearly centered - as one would expect of June, if that was what month it was. "At least several months ago, then," Kiran murmured. Was Ashera still present in the Tower of Guidance, then? Or had she departed? It seemed unlikely that she would stay, but at that point, Kiran was trying to predict the behavior of a god, so -- 

_Of a god._

No, you can't get too worried about that, firstly because if she's here you can't really change it and secondly because if Ike and Micaiah could defeat her then the other Heroes must be able to, somehow, too. She shook her head fiercely. Anxiety, as right as you might be this one time, I need you to go away. "That's good to know," she said, pointing back down to the map. "How well were you able to trace the Tempest's borders?"

"The pass was right about where you expected it to be," Palla murmured, tracing a circle on the map around a section of mountains to the north of them. "The fortress at Flaguerre is there, too. Were we all flying, it would be less than a day's ride. We also saw someone on the road riding away from the fortress, towards Nevassa..."

"So one of Embla's fighters, then," Anna hummed. She seemed to have recovered nicely from Palla's revelation. "A messenger, or a scout, I would imagine." 

"They seemed to be traveling light," Palla continued. "An unarmored horse and rider, carrying almost nothing, riding as fast as they could."

"Then they must not be going far, hm?" Anna turned to Kiran, smiling lopsidedly. "Do you think we could catch them?" 

"Probably, but..." Kiran frowned, shaking her head. "Where are they going? Daein is still under the effects of the Ashera's judgment, there's no one for them to meet with, right?"

"That was our thinking, too," Palla added nervously. "We may not catch them on foot, but I'm sure we could keep up with them in the sky, if we leave quickly enough to find them on the road again."

"Won't you be easily spotted?" Sharena gasped. 

"I don't think that's safe," Kiran agreed, nodding. "It's good to know that someone just rode back into Daein, but for now we should focus on our own objective."

 

In the past, Veronica's authority over a world was bound to a place of "historic and cultural significance" to that world - so the Rigelian throne in Valentia, the throne of Bern for Elibe... You know, places where their major games reached their climax. (Kiran had been significantly better at predicting the binding locations than Sharena or Alfonse.) In Tellius, there were a few likely candidates, but it had been Kiran's suspicion that she should start in Serenes - not the location of the finale, but the absolute center of the conflict that set off Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn (or... uh... the Mad King's war, and the Daein uprising, and... all of that) in the first place. If it wasn't Serenes, she intended to continue south to the Tower of Guidance, the next most likely location, assuming she could still get to it.

It took most of the day to reach Flaguerre; the terrain was not exactly forgiving, and even though theirs was not an especially large force, complications still arose that resulted overall in a few hours' delay. As they drew nearer to the pass, however, the mountains changed shape, and they picked out the line in the sky where the Tempest ended - a mercifully short diversion through Daein, with the entrance to Begnion now before them. 

Here, however, Kiran's plans grew hazy. During the early stages of - uh - the Beorc/Laguz war, let's say - Skrimir's army had coerced the defenders of the twin fortresses of Flaguerre and Mugill to surrender by essentially being the most terrifying things those hapless beorc had ever seen. Kiran was not a laguz, she was far from scary, and she was not facing an enemy that would be daunted by simple terror tactics anyhow. Kiran had immense power in a siege, but if anyone could stop her - or stall her long enough that she'd be in dire straits - Soren could. 

Given that she needed to take two fortress, Flaguerre and Mugill both, she couldn't be content with mere victory. Flaguerre had to go down as fast as possible, and that meant she had to take a very different approach than she normally would. She didn't like the idea of putting the Heroes' lives at stake in the hopes of winning faster, but it wasn't just Veronica's escape and recovery on the line anymore; it was also Alfonse's safety. Ike and Elincia would probably not be eager to harm the leader of an opposing force, especially one intent on freeing them from Veronica's control... but it may not be entirely up to them. There was no telling what Veronica would order them to do. 

With their assembled regiment's camp set up just out of sight from the mountain pass, Kiran chose to wait out the evening, with their watchers scanning the road for the mysterious rider while she pored over whatever maps of the fortresses she could find to plan her attack. They weren't really castles so much as small walled-in cities, so that make things relatively easy; just break through the wall and you've basically taken the whole thing. That explained why Skrimir's gambit was so effective. 

But for her case, she had to worry about the Greil Mercenaries' very powerful mages and very talented archers atop that wall. Traditionally, a siege would navigate around these problems with long-range weapons - Kiran had a few good options there - but against the mercenaries' relatively small numbers and with time against them, she didn't want to wait around for a barrage to do its job. She wanted to rush the wall, clean it out, open the gate, and force a retreat as fast as possible. 

That meant throwing fliers at archers. 

She couldn't help her glowing blush and the evasiveness in her gaze as she called her sky knight leaders into the command tent to advise her; this just felt like such a stupid question, a clear sign of her ineptitude, but at the same time she had to have her answer if she was to finish her plan. She hesitantly explained the situation as Minerva and Hinoka listened close, attentive and curious, and as the tactician finished the two women glanced at each other with eyebrows arched. 

"So," Hinoka said slowly, "what's, uh... what's the problem?"

For a moment of wild panic, Kiran wondered if the whole "pegasi are weak to arrows" thing was _just a game mechanic._ "I-In the histories I read," she stammered, "um, it's clearly stated that pegasus knights - well, fliers in general - one of their greatest tactical weaknesses are archers." Hinoka and Minerva nodded slowly, in unison. "But at the same time, there are accounts of very talented sky knights easily evading arrow fire..."

"You speak as though you've never led such a battle yourself," Minerva murmured, squinting, "but your expertise in strategy suggests the opposite." 

"It's hard to explain," Kiran sighed defeatedly. "I'm sure this sounds very stupid to you, but I - I'm used to situations where..." Can't say soft reset, can't say anything about calculating hit rates... "I'm used to having a very clear understanding of the capabilities of my fighters," she finished. "To a point of predicting individual one-on-one skirmishes. It's not practical experience to a battle like this, where I have to trust each of you to know your own limits, but I still have to form my plan around them."

"So you're basically saying," Hinoka continued, "you want to know how reasonable it is to ask us to charge at a wall of archers without getting shot down." 

"I take it you have never used a dust-storm approach," Minerva added conversationally, a faint smile pulling at the corner of her lips now. Kiran blinked at her. "It's designed for situations such as this. I'll explain." 

 

Thus armed with a new strategy, Kiran finished the rest of her plan, and hurried to Anna - who was keeping watch with some of their watchers, which is to say, trying to sell them snacks. She made a half-hearted show of stuffing her wares into her cloak as Kiran approached. "What's new?" she chirped. 

"Is it too late to attack under cover of night?" Kiran asked. Anna's smile faded, replaced with an expression of clear surprise. 

Minerva's suggestion would be best suited to a sudden and coordinated strike, and that was exactly what Kiran wanted to accomplish. With her team leaders assembled before her she hastily explained the approach; though initially disgruntled at being asked to set up camp only to suddenly abandon it, their frustration seemed to fade in favor of either concern or excitement. "Is this really going to work?" Eirika said faintly, shaking her head slowly and looking up at Kiran in shock. 

"It's a very elegant attack plan," Leo mused. "But it will take exceptional coordination to pull off."

"That's my job," Kiran said firmly. "I think I can get everyone's timing right. It's just a matter of each of you understanding your own roles and fulfilling them as best you can." 

"I admit," Eirika said nervously, "I don't like the idea of rushing headlong at a guarded wall before it's been opened, but..." 

"It will be opened," Minerva said calmly. Hinoka nodded in adamant agreement, grinning. "I believe this is a sound plan given the circumstances."

"Do you have a fallback plan?" Leo asked.

"You were there for Rigel," Kiran said softly, and she glanced to Eirika. "Is Julia with you? Will she be ready?" 

"Julia has been anticipating this attack for a while," Eirika agreed. "As long as you don't try to push her too hard, I think she'll be okay." 

"Then, that should sum it up," Kiran hummed, turning back to Leo with a faint smirk, which - to her delight - Leo returned. "All that's left, I think, is your approval, Apostle." 

It had not been Kiran's idea to bring Sanaki along; Sanaki herself had insisted. She, alongside Julia, had proven integral to the siege at Rigel, but she had stubbornly refused being sent home to rest afterward and instead rode along near the command unit, taking in the sights with a strange mix of curious wonder and abject, pale horror. Between her two 'siege mages', the differences between Sanaki and Julia were rather dramatic; Julia was not nearly as mobile but her magic was far more powerful, while Sanaki still had a great deal of energy and moved surprisingly swiftly beneath all those robes, allowing her to position alongside a mobile unit and make more precise attacks than Julia could. For a fight such as this, Sanaki was a natural choice. 

She was a bit older than Kiran had expected - _(which was kind of a relief?)_ \- not that much younger than any of the other Lords in the room, in fact; she was still studying their rough map, her arms behind her back. Kiran had seen her fidgeting when she thought she was not being watched, so she suspected the Apostle was more anxious than she'd like to let on. Not that Kiran blamed her.

"Strange," she said quietly, at length. "I hadn't ever expected to attack my own empire once... let alone twice." She sighed heavily, meeting Kiran's gaze; her eyes were terribly sharp and it was difficult for Kiran not to flinch back. "I shall be very impressed if this plan comes together as you've describe it," she declared. "I will do my part to make it a success. Just, do try to ensure minimal damage to the fortress itself?" 

"This isn't your Begnion," Anna said lowly, and Sanaki waved her hand dismissively.

"Begnion is Begnion," she huffed. "An Empress is an Empress. These people are my people, whether they follow or recognize me or no." 

"I will do what I can," Kiran agreed. Sanaki nodded her approval. "Then, let's get this started, before the night wastes away on us." 

Now that they were out of the Tempest, the night was not quite so pitch-black; clouds obscured starlight and cast selective moonbeams on the pass approach, but it was enough for the Order to carefully arrange themselves by. By not using torches, and by lurking quite a ways back from the grounds of their engagement, they gave themselves just a slightly greater chance of not being spotted by the guards at the fortress' walls. While everyone was positioning, Kagero surveyed their opponent's fortifications, and returned with slightly unfortunate but ultimately unsurprising news: Soren had expected an attack by night, and the outer wall was quite thoroughly guarded. 

Sanaki and Sakura advanced first. From a vantage point that had charged Kiran a few hefty scrapes to reach, she watched at the limits of her night vision as the two girls made their way along the road, as casual as an apostle and a shrine maiden can be. If they were bearing light sources they'd very definitely be spotted on their approach, but they weren't, and that made it kind of unclear one way or another. The plan would begin once the two of them stopped - which is to say, when Sanaki felt she was within Cymbeline range. 

When that happened, Kiran hesitated, turning to Sharena beside her, and Sharena eagerly raised Fensalir, waiting the command. Still Kiran paused, just to be sure all eyes were on her. 

"Okay," Kiran whispered, "first pulse." 

 

The gleam of the light was dim - no more than a flicker of a star, perhaps, had someone not been watching for it. Still, Sanaki smiled faintly as she saw it. 

"Okay, that's the first one," Sakura whispered beside her. "So that means..." 

"The sky corps will begin their charge," Sanaki hummed. "Very good. Well, then, attendant. Your barrier?" 

"I'm a princess," Sakura pouted, though seemingly in good humor. Sanaki remained focused on the spot where the tactician's light had been, as her companion cast Barrier to shield her from oncoming magic. An overzealous precaution, perhaps, but Sanaki was rather accustomed to that sort of care by now. Really, being out here so exposed with no guards was more than Tanith and Sigrun would ever allow, and that in itself was rather exciting.

...ah, but she missed them. She hoped they were well... and she hoped she did not run into them here. It would be difficult to retain poise if she did, and... 

"Do you know how to use staves?" Sakura asked. Instinctively Sanaki's internal response was to scold her for speaking out of turn, but in this case she welcomed the excuse to end that train of thought. 

"Oddly enough," Sanaki mused, "I never learned. Strange, isn't it? For one as talented in magic as I not to know how to use staves." 

"I don't think that's too strange," Sakura murmured, shifting back in front of her. "You had many attendants, didn't you?" Sanaki hummed in agreement. "You probably were never without a staff user nearby. But for my family, I was the best with staves out of everyone, so..." 

"How interesting," Sanaki gasped. "I -" But at that moment, Fensalir pulsed again, and Sanaki very nearly missed it. "Oh! The second signal!" 

"Oh, okay," Sakura gasped, shifting back nervously. "I-I'll give you some space..." 

Sanak turned back briefly - there was some dark mass coming towards her in the darkness, but that was all she could make out with just a glance, and she had to focus her attention forward first and foremost. She turned to the wall and opened her tome, sighing deeply, emptying her mind. 

"My apologies," she whispered, speaking to no one, and yet fully aware of for whom her words were intended. "I will defend Begnion from all threats. Even you." 

 

"Hey, what's - do you see that?" Rolf glanced back to Soren with an expression of alarm. "It looks like magic."

Soren swept forward to the battlement at once. At first, compared with the torchlit wall around them, the blackness of the valley mouth was impenetrable - but at quite a long distance, far beyond normal spell range, he saw a pair of swirling lights, like will-o-wisps but gleaming dangerously hot. Tracing their pattern, he thought he recognized a spell catalyst. It was certainly familiar, but... it was too far away to tell exactly what it was. 

"There's something behind them," Shinon added, his voice laced with dark urgency. "Something moving fast, coming right at us." 

"It looks like a dust storm," Rolf breathed. "What _is_ that?!"

"Some kind of wind spell?" 

"I swear I've seen that magic before," Soren muttered, but he was still staring at the spell, not whatever was behind. "It's not wind, it's definitely fire... it's..." Squinting, he thought he could make out the spell's caster behind those lights - flashes of red robes, of... violet hair... "No," he gasped, "it can't be -?!"

The two lights spread wide, but at that moment the nature of the spell became clear; all at once a searing light like the sun shone down from overhead, bathing the wall and all those on it in waves of fierce heat. Soren looked up in shock - above them was a swirling ball of raging fire, a self-contained inferno growing wider and wider - 

" _Get off the wall!_ " Soren roared. "Everybody off _now!_ "

Shinon and Rolf were fast enough to reach the stairs, with Soren just behind; Ilyana was stumbling along behind them when the spell hit, but her own natural resistance dulled its effects; it knocked her tumbling down but Rolf caught her (well, as best as he could) and set her upright again, and she seemed fine. But Cymbeline was not content to merely crash down atop the wall; it radiated outward in waves of leaping fire, blanketing the wall. There had been no other mercenaries on watch, thankfully, but there had been other guards; Soren couldn't see clearly from here whether they were safely making it down, but he'd have to just hope for the best. 

"Go tell Ike we're under attack," Shinon was barking. "Hurry!" Soren turned to see Rolf bouncing on his heels, just about to break into a sprint, but - 

"Wait," Soren said, his voice shaking. "What was it you saw behind the caster?" 

Rolf made to answer, but he forgot his words immediately in favor of a panicked shout; a huge shadow swept over them, and looking up Soren saw a wave of wings - some of the riders' faces and armor he recognized. The Order of Heroes' flier corps. They were circling the wall now as the spell began to subside, and two pegasus knights bearing lances touched down to contest Rolf and Shinon at close range as they desperately tried to find the range to counterattack. 

Soren tried to push them off with a wind spell, but they resisted his magic and continued to focus their attacks - there were others soaring in now, and Soren's spells were interrupted by the howling rush of new casts of Cymbeline. 

A dust-storm formation. Kiran had used a dust-storm formation: a wing of fast-moving fliers that approached a fortification at ground level before scaling at nearly a ninety-degree angle to make themselves difficult to hit with arrow fire, named after the clouds of dust that they kicked up in their wake and could subsequently use as cover. But not content with that - and rightly so - she had augmented it. She had walked Sanaki into cast range of the wall, she had forced them away with the raw power and massive range of Cymbeline - in a panic he turned towards the gate, but sure enough, a towering wyvern lord had already assumed control of the control mechanism, and it was already grinding open. Kiran already had forces on the far side somehow...? That was her strength, terrifying and logic-defying mobility... 

He managed to put his back towards the keep, as Ike was hurrying out with reinforcements, but it was too little and too late and Soren knew it. He pulled Ike aside and hissed to him that they had to pull back, and Ike sighed with resignation and gave the order. 

 

The battle, such as it was, was over in less than fifteen minutes. Defenders loyal to Veronica fled the fortress in droves, with the Greil Mercenaries leading them back to Mugill, and Kiran entered the city with hours to spare before dawn. More than a few Heroes approached her to playfully complain about the inconvenience of leaving their camp behind - a sign that Kiran happily took to mean that their clean win had improved morale, and she was quite happy to have their confidence going into what might be the final confrontation of the war. 

The Order took some time to recuperate after the long marches in Flaguerre; Kiran had been mentally planning two days on taking this place, so to overcome it in one night put her massively ahead of schedule, and she couldn't help but feel a bit relieved herself. But at the same time... she did not want to delay too long. This was not a due-date for an assignment - Alfonse was still in danger, and with each moment passing that danger grew. 

Sanaki, for her part, seemed quite delighted to be back in Begnion. She strutted about the city at her full height and then some, making booming decrees about continuing to push Veronica's influence from the realm, though there was no one to hear her save other members of the Order, who looked on with amusement and bowed gently in response to her adamant requests that they respect her authority. Kiran struggled not to laugh. It was hard to know how much of this was serious for Sanaki, and how much of it was play - she'd found it kind of tough to sympathize with her as a character portrayed in a video game, but as a real young adult standing in front of her, it was somehow a bit easier to parse... Sanaki didn't seem to know how to interact with people in a lighthearted and jovial way, all she really knew was how to assert her right to rule and try to sound impressive and authoritative, and when she wanted to connect and play with others, she had to do so using the only language she really had. 

Regardless, that was how Kiran found herself attending to Sanaki's "throne" (which was a chair, albeit a nice one, in the main hall of the fort's central keep), reporting to her as though Sanaki led the Order and not vice versa, doing her best to contain her smile by swaying her hips in rhythm. Sanaki herself was beaming, too. 

"Very good," the Apostle hummed, nodding her head, as Kiran finished relaying the status of the various teams and their preparedness to move. "Well, then. I shall grant you the very prestigious duty of acting as my honorary Imperial Tactician." 

"Thank you, your grace," Kiran replied, a bit mirthfully. "I will carry the title with honor."

"Naturally, naturally." Sanaki's eyes glittered. "You've done very well in granting us such swift passage into the empire; pray tell, what is your next move? Another fortress yet stands between us and the Serenes Forest. Which, as I understand, is our next objective?"

"Our objective is the binding of Veronica's power to this world," Kiran explained; Sanaki nodded, closing her eyes to listen. "My instinct suggests that such a binding is placed either within the Tower of Guidance, or within Serenes Forest. We must proceed through the forest to reach the Tower, regardless, so this is our direction for now."

"The Tower of Guidance," Sanaki repeated faintly. "Hmm. Summoner, you have demonstrated a keen understanding of the history of each of our worlds. Are you familiar with the Goddess of Light?" 

Kiran hesitated; Sanaki's eyes cracked partially open, watching her closely. Every time their eyes locked Kiran wanted to flinch. She took a deep breath, and slowly answered: "Yes, I am familiar with Ashera." 

Sanaki's eyebrows arched. "Bold of you to refer to her by such a familiar name," the Apostle observed. "Then answer me this: do you think Veronica possesses greater power than Ashera?"

Again, Kiran paused. She glanced at Anna, who was in the room with her, and Anna shrugged comically. 

"That's hard to say," Kiran admitted, "but... if I had to guess, I would say no." 

"I would agree," Sanaki hummed, though she was unable to conceal a wave of relief in her voice. Or perhaps unwilling. "So, Summoner, I would suggest that Veronica's binding must not be in the Tower of Guidance, because she cannot use such a holy ground for her foul magic while Ashera's influence remains, which it surely will for generations. Therefore it is most likely in Serenes Forest. Do you agree?" 

Kiran blinked. "I - oh. Yeah." Sanaki bristled, and Kiran hastily cleared her throat. "I believe that's a very, um, astute observation," she corrected. "I find myself continually impressed by your wisdom, Empress."

"Is it so surprising?" Sanaki cooed, smiling coyly. Kiran flushed. That came out awfully flirty, much more so than she'd intended, but - gods, she just really hoped Sanaki saw it as flattery, because that would be very, very awkward. Especially with _THAT_ reaction. "We shall see soon enough," the Empress added airily, "which of us is correct. But before then - "

The doors to the main hall opened; it was not a sharp or surprising sound, but something about it startled Sanaki into silence, and Kiran turned to see Camus entering the room, carefully slipping the door shut behind him. "My apologies if I've interrupted," he said, bowing stiffly to Kiran, and Kiran bowed back courteously. "There is a matter of some urgency I must speak with you about." 

Instinctively, Kiran looked back to Sanaki, but the Empress had stood up and was pacing around the table in a rush. "Go on," Sanaki urged. "What's the matter?" Camus looked between the two of them, confused - evidently not in on the joke. 

"Kiran, it's about the rider from this morning," Camus continued, his expression grave. "As you anticipated, she returned just now. We opened the gate for her and then captured her. She didn't put up much of a fight, but... the things she's saying..." He shook his head slowly. "You need to see." 

"Who is it?" 

"A girl, no older than your grace." He nodded to Sanaki. "She said her name was Mist." 

"I'm older than Mist?" Sanaki said blankly, but Camus continued: 

"There's something else." He dropped his voice ominously, then glanced again to the Empress - Kiran could tell he didn't want her in the room. Sanaki, however, folded her arms and glared. 

"Yes?" she demanded. 

"Camus, there are no conflicts of interest here," Kiran assured him. "Whatever you have to share, don't hesitate." 

 

Camus sighed heavily, closing his eyes. "I was there, during the attack on the throne room of Rigel," he said quietly. "You recall, perhaps." Kiran nodded. "I thought it right to do my part to free the empire that had done right by me. But... while I was there, something happened that unsettled me. I put it out of mind for the time being, intent on my duty to you and in the name of my homeland, but... hearing now what that girl has to say, I'm... I find myself losing my nerve." 

Kiran did not know what to say. _Camus_ was losing his nerve? She glanced at Anna and Sharena, opposite of Sanaki from her, but they didn't seem to feel the same gravity to this as she did. "What happened?" Sharena said, clearly quite worried nonetheless. 

"We pushed them into the throne room, and they barricaded the door," Camus recited, evading their gazes, watching some distant corner of the room with an intense gaze that burned through what it touched. "Prince Alfonse shouted through the door that they should surrender, which I thought was very noble, and Emperor Alm announced he would not so long as he drew breath."

Here Camus paused, drawing himself up slowly. "So," he continued, "we broke through, rushed to their casters, put them at the point of our blades... there were some injuries, but as far as last stands go, it was somewhat anticlimactic. There were... maybe fifteen of them, to the sixteen of us, but they were badly wounded, and we healthy. Some of them were without the strength to stand." Camus faltered again; Kiran was sure he had memories of some of those Heroes. She had asked him not to participate in the final assault, but he had insisted. Now he was paying for it. 

"And then," Camus said, "Emperor Alm said something... strange. He pushed back against my spear and yelled over my shoulder to Prince Alfonse, his voice full of rage; he said, 'What have we done that we deserve your wrath? Why must we be destroyed?'" Kiran blinked. Camus shook his head. "Prince Alfonse did not answer him," he murmured. "He performed his ritual, and we disarmed the defeated and took our leave. They were... crying, as we left them."

"Why?" Sharena's eyes boggled. "Why didn't he say anything? We're not conquerors, we're not there to destroy their world..."

"Alfonse has made it a point not to be close with the Heroes," Anna said lowly. "It was his decision, regardless, and it's not our place to question it." 

"I find myself unsure of that," Camus said softly, meeting her gaze directly. "And I find myself surprised by your lack of humanity, Commander. If it is as the Princess claims, should we not have all rights to take the time to assure them of our peaceful intent? Why should we leave them afraid of some unknown horror? Should that not have been suspect to the Prince? Or is there something he is not telling us?" 

"I can't say, myself," Anna said cryptically, shrugging. "He's not much of a talker, that's all I know." She smiled rather saccharinely at Kiran, who found herself only more disturbed than before. "Shall we go find out more about this mystery we have on our hands, then?"

"Summoner," said Sanaki, very softly and with a terrible anger. 

Kiran took a deep breath, pursing her lips as she turned to face the Apostle. It made her quake, but she maintained Sanaki's gaze nonetheless. 

"Summoner," the Apostle repeated, "if I learn you have led us here to destroy this world, you understand there will be hell to pay, yes?"

"Empress," Kiran said, as seriously as she could manage, "if _I_ learn that we have been led here to destroy this world, please believe me when I say I will be every bit as furious as you."

Sanaki smiled darkly, a strange light in her eyes, nodding with approval. "Hopefully it does not come to that," she whispered. "Let us go and see what Mist has to say."


	5. Chapter 5

It didn't really make any difference that he had been summoned; when Soren entered the great hall at Mugill's main keep, and saw that Veronica was in fact sitting and watching the door waiting for him to enter, with Xander pacing at her side no less, it honestly rendered him speechless.

"Explain yourself," Veronica rasped. Her voice was well beyond hoarse now; at last she sounded like the horrible demonic abberation she truly was. 

"The Order attacked by night, and used extremely aggressive and frankly dangerous tactics that no ordinary army would be able to pull off," Soren hissed, folding his arms slowly. "They took the wall within minutes. You would need some kind of divine protection at the least to stand your ground and still survive that opening move, and we were undermanned from the beginning. Without the wall, we were fighting on even ground, outnumbered and very seriously outmatched. So I cut our losses." 

"You gave up," Veronica snarled, now gutteral and creaking with savage fury. "You abandoned your duty. I thought you were some miracle tactician, but you're just a coward." She turned to Xander. "Kill him." 

Xander hesitated, and that hesitation drew on rather long, until it was clearly an act of dissent. Soren wondered, briefly and wildly, if he should act surprised. "Your heart not really in it?" he taunted instead. Veronica seethed, but a hacking cough came to her throat rather than a spiteful riposte.

"Princess, please," Xander sighed, turning at last to her, with the simpering aura of a beleagured maid rather than a commanding prince of men. Soren found it sickly satisfying to watch him flail. "Your condition is worsening every moment you spend out of bed. Please, you must - " 

" _DO NOT TELL ME,_ " Veronica screeched; something caught in her throat, and in one great retch she expelled it onto the desk - something dark and not entirely liquid - as Xander looked on in horror; then she turned smoothly back to him and continued: "Do _not_ tell me what to do." 

"Princess," Soren said slowly, "I think what you're doing is truly inspirational. I encourage you to remain at the front lines right up until your illness kills you in front of all of your Heroes, in fact." 

Xander stared at him in pale shock. Veronica glared at him, entirely unimpressed. Soren glared back defiantly. 

"Why is she even here?" he demanded, turning to Xander. "Didn't you say you were taking her back to Serenes?"

"She insisted she remain here," Xander said blankly. "I don't understand why, but - "

"Silence," Veronica snarled. "Both of you. Xander, you will take charge of the defense henceforth. Do with the Mercenaries as you see fit. And you, failure, get out of my sight." 

_Suppose I don't,_ Soren thought. He almost said it. Instead, he didn't move. Veronica narrowed her eyes at him. 

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

"Oh, that was directed at me?" Soren said innocently, and he turned swiftly and stormed out, a satisfied smirk painted on his face out of their sight. 

 

But it was an empty, bitter satisfaction; that was the best he could really hope for anymore. Everything felt empty and pointless at this point, and Soren was filled with a rage and contempt that simply could not go anywhere. 

Maybe he should have just killed her. 

See - that was the thing. He could do that now. When Mist had first run away, Soren had suspected it, but only now that he was back in Veronica's presence could he confirm that the Princess' influence over them was waning. But it was hard to know just how much freedom they had, or if it might come back unexpectedly. Also, it was hard to know whether or not he was even strong enough to kill her in one attack. If he failed, Xander the adoring mother would kill him, and then he'd have just died for nothing. So there was that to consider, too.

But... if what the prince had told them was true... 

He and Ike had argued over it afterward, in perhaps one of the only true arguments of theirs Soren could remember, and the memory was enough to temper him some. Ike did not get that angry lightly, but he had been brooding a lot lately, and Soren couldn't really blame him. What if the Prince was lying? _Why would he lie?_ They had left predictable, measurable reality. They had entered a bizarre realm of helpless uncertainty, where even the idea of tomorrow had to come into question, where strange completely unfathomable motives now worked transparently to determine whether their entire world lived or died, except death seemed to lurk on both sides of the coin. Who could know? Maybe Alfonse had some reason to lie. Or, even worse, maybe he had some reason to tell a partial truth. 

But ultimately, Ike had been right about one thing: the Prince's story corraborated what Xander had told them before, and that made it likely that regardless of Alfonse's trustworthiness, Xander at least had not deceived them. Their world was tied to Veronica's power. If she was driven out, they would disappear. If she died, they would also disappear. For Soren to strike out against her in anger would just be a pointless suicide, except also taking the entirety of Tellius and the Askrian forces with him, which honestly might not be the worst possible outcome. 

He found Ike in the barracks, because of course that's where Ike was and of course that's where Soren was going. Ike was alone; he looked up when Soren entered, they paused awkwardly at their full distance of separation, and then Ike tiredly beckoned him in. Soren sat down at a bench beside him. 

"I can disobey Veronica's orders, presently," he announced. Ike nodded numbly. 

"Great." He took a deep breath; Soren could hear him shivering, and it unsettled him deeply. "What should we do with that?"

Soren wondered if he was doing this to try to help Soren feel better, or if he honestly believed that Soren was the key to solving this. Either way was kind of flattering, but also kind of sad. As loathe as Soren was to admit it, that is. "Ike," he said quietly, "are you... okay?" 

Ike was quiet for a moment. "No." Soren nodded faintly, and Ike heaved with an enormous sigh. "But we've gotta figure this out." 

"Ike," Soren said softly, "I hate to say this, but there's a very real possibility that we just can't. That tactician of theirs is getting aggressive. She knows we're almost out of options, that our back is against the wall. When she hits this place, it's all over. Either we win and we cross our fingers Veronica decides to be nice to us all of a sudden, or the Askrians win and none of us exist in a week."

"I can't believe that Sanaki is working with them," Ike whispered. "Can you believe that? She's going to destroy her own world." 

"I imagine she doesn't have much of a choice," Soren said airily. "They're probably using some kind of power similar to Veronica's." But something about that didn't feel right. A memory stuck out, of their tactician standing across from Soren at the river crossing, with a soft and sincere apology and a grieving expression that did not belong on her. 

"You're probably right," Ike agreed tiredly. "And now, they have Mist, too. Even if Veronica can't tell me what to do anymore, I don't know if I can save her. I don't..." He trailed off, sighing shakily, hanging his head. "I don't know if I can save anybody." 

As silence drew on, Soren began to realize that the rhythm of Ike's breaths in the dark was not regular. It was faint, certainly, but... unmistakeable. He felt his resolve crumbling away, revealing fear. And he felt his fear fading, receding, revealing... something else, a sense of quiet desperation, one that Soren even still was hesitant to give voice or a name to, but... one that he and Ike were well aware of by now, whether Soren liked it or not. 

Hesitantly, he leaned into Ike's shoulder. Ike turned like lightning and gathered him up in his arms instead, and Soren leaned into him, holding him tightly. He was smaller; this was the best he could do. But he hoped it helped. That was really all he could hope for. 

"I do hope I'm not interrupting."

It was too soon, but against his own internal protest Soren jolted up and Ike let him go, and Soren staggered back til he was against the wall, glaring at the doorway in an adrenaline-fueled terror. But that fear quickly subsided, replaced with an entirely new one as he took in the shadow against the light outside, as Ike stood and turned to follow his gaze. "Reyson," Ike gasped, his voice torn between horror and awestruck relief; he jumped forward as if to catch the heron before he could fall. "Reyson! Where have you been?!"

"In hiding, in Serenes," Reyson muttered, shaking his head and trying to push Ike off of him, though even Soren had to admit, the Prince of Herons did not look like he was having an easy time carrying his own weight. Soren, for his part, wanted to make himself scarce, but it felt wrong to leave Ike so suddenly, especially after a moment like that. "Save for the last day or so," he added, "when I flew out here, because the waves of negative energy have been drawing ever closer, and now the end draws near." 

"You should conserve your strength," Ike said seriously. "And stay out of sight. I don't know what Veronica would do with you if she found you." Reyson snorted and held up a hand to silence him. 

"Where is Mist?" Reyson asked. "I didn't have a chance to speak with you before, but she and I exchanged words last night. I haven't been able to find her since." Ike's eyes grew wide, and Soren bit his lip; Reyson looked between the two of them with increasing concern, loosing an agitated sigh. "Tell me," he insisted.

"Mist didn't make it back from wherever she was going before we were attacked," Soren said slowly.

"How much did she tell you?" Ike added warily. 

"Enough," Reyson answered, returning Ike's gaze in kind. "Did she not tell you - ?" Ike shook his head, and Reyson sighed, rubbing his temples. "Listen," he said urgently, "whatever it takes, we must find and rescue Mist. There may yet be a sliver of hope for us if we can do that." 

Soren jumped up from the wall, interest peaked all at once. "How?" he breathed. "What are you planning?" 

 

The "detainment cell" that Hector had forced Mist into was basically just a large closet inside a house near the gate, and the door was kept open so that it wasn't too dark and the girl could see out, but with a mostly-recovered Effie standing guard it was unlikely she'd get out anytime soon. 

When Kiran arrived, Effie brought their captive into the main room, taking maybe a bit too much delight in giving her menacing looks as she obediently sat and waited for instructions. Mist kept her arms folded around a bundle of cloth in her lap. "Who allowed her to have that?" Anna gasped, making to snatch it from her - Mist yelped and surried away, keeping it out of reach. 

"Don't take this!" Mist cried. "It's very dangerous!" 

"I will have order," Sanaki harrumphed, or at least, she did her damnedest as a rather small-framed young woman. Anna stepped back, closing her eyes, but Mist turned to face the Apostle with an expression of bewildered, frightened joy. "Mist," the Empress said quietly, sighing with dismay. "So you are here after all." 

"Kiran," Anna said quietly, "the other Heroes should probably wait outside. You, too, Sharena."

"I will not allow it," Sanaki snapped. "Until you have proven to my satisfaction that this world is not in undue danger, I will be present." 

"Don't push her," Kiran added warningly. "We're so close to catching Veronica, the last thing we need is to start turning on each other at the final moment." Anna pursed her lips, then turned away, shaking her head. Satisfied, Kiran made room for Sanaki to stand at the center; the Empress seemed somewhat surprised, but quickly and gracefully accepted, standing before Mist at her full height. 

"You're older," Mist observed, with a faint smile. "Wow." 

"Time has a tendency to make a person older, yes," Sanaki agreed, her voice icy cool. For someone that had been surprised and impressed by this idea moments before, she sure did not show any sign of interest now. "We are here to talk about you, Mist. What is it you carry in your arms?" 

Mist hesitated, looking between the Apostle and the tactician behind her, expression filled with sorrow but unreadable beyond that. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and began to unwrap the cloth - revealing, at its center, a blue coin that glowed with brilliant pale-gray fire. Sanaki gasped, and Kiran felt her adrenaline spike at the sight of it. 

"Lehran's Medallion," Sanaki whispered. "But - I thought that it was rendered powerless following the Dark God's awakening?" 

"I thought so, too," Mist agreed, her voice faint. "But something is wrong with this one."

"This might be a stupid question," Kiran murmured, "but wasn't the medallion supposed to be surrounded by _blue_ fire?" 

Mist nodded. Sanaki and Kiran exchanged horrified glances. 

"Mist," Sanaki announced, expertly masking any fear in her voice even if not in her expression. "You will explain yourself to me at once. Begin with why you rode out from this place, and then why you were seeking the Medallion."

"The Emblian princess is getting too weak to continue to force us to follow her orders," Mist explained. "The night before last, as I was pacing the fortress alone, I was visited by Prince Reyson, who has been in hiding since Veronica arrived; he came to me to explain that he could feel the dark power in Veronica receding, and that we might have a chance to contain her if we acted quickly enough."

"Contain her," Sanaki repeated softly. "I have been led to understand that the goal of the Order of Heroes is to drive Veronica away from the worlds she has infested entirely. Is that not preferable?"

Mist stared at her blankly for several moments, as though in disbelief at Sanaki's words. "You don't know," she mouthed, shaking her head slowly; she swallowed, took a deep breath, and continued with a pained grimace. "Ike and Soren asked your Prince about that after he was captured. He claimed that when Veronica was repelled, our world would... fade away. Without her influence, it would cease to exist." 

Sanaki let out a long, heated exhale; she turned slowly and deliberately to Anna, but Anna continued to pace in her corner, pretending not to see. "Is this true," she asked flatly. 

"Hard to say," Anna said noncommittally, gesturing, not looking up from her aimless circles. "We don't know the full nature of Veronica's powers, but we theorized that it might be possible for these worlds to be somewhat artificial in nature, so if you took away the power source that let them continue to exist, then yes, they would stop."

"Somewhat artificial," Sharena repeated faintly. "What do you mean by that?"

"It matters not," Sanaki snapped, "Tellius is Tellius, and Begnion is my empire. And yet knowing this, you led us towards this world's destruction, as well as the previous worlds, all the same."

"Would you rather I let Veronica continue to enslave them and wield their Heroes against Askr?" Anna asked pointedly, finally glancing up, folding her arms. "Would you rather we just allow Veronica to create entire new worlds of her own to neglect and abuse without end, regardless of the consequences?"

Sanaki recoiled, though still clearly boiling with anger; she turned back to Kiran, but Kiran had not fully caught up. Mist spoke next, clearing her throat delicately to draw their attention. "I understand this is a hard position for both of us," she said softly. "If Veronica wins, she still controls us and will go on harming other worlds, but if you win, we aren't free, we just... cease to exist. But Reyson believed that there was a way we could contain Veronica, stopping her from controlling us without destroying our world." 

Kiran gasped. "The medallion?" she breathed. "What are you - ?" 

"Reyson believes that if Veronica is weak enough, we can seal her in the medallion, just the same way Yune was sealed." Mist frowned at the glowing relic in her hands. "But I thought it would be empty," she added, her voice despairing. "I don't understand what this is, but... but I can't give up. I've got to get this back to Reyson before it's too late..." 

"Lady Mist," Sharena said nervously. 

"O-oh," Mist gasped, "just - just Mist is okay." 

"Mist," Sharena started again, "um - do you know that my brother is safe?"

"Elincia insisted that he be treated with care," Mist confirmed. "I don't think Veronica was interested in harming him. He should still be safe in the dungeons at Mugill."

"Then, as long as we have your assurance that he will be returned to us," Sharena continued, "I don't see any reason for us not to help you." She turned to Kiran. "Right?" 

Kiran nodded, but turned to Anna. "Right?" she repeated pointedly. 

"It's an interesting idea," Anna admitted. "Who knows, maybe it'll work?" 

Kiran's eyes narrowed. She doubted she could match the ferocity of Sanaki's glare, which - so far - seemed not to have impressed the Commander, but she felt she had to make her displeasure known nonetheless. Anna's logic was sound - given the choice, stopping Veronica was preferable to not, destroying the heroes was preferable to allowing them to be enslaved - but it was a narrow margin, and it didn't make Kiran feel any less ill as she considered her past victories in this new context. No wonder she had never seemed to have a morale advantage - as horrible as Veronica was, the enemy Heroes were still fighting for their survival, and she... 

What was Anna playing at? Was this really the time to act coy and half-heartedly feign ignorance?

"It's best we escort you back to Mugill," Kiran said slowly, turning back to Mist. "You have my word that you won't be harmed. There's a possibility that Veronica will force them to attack us even with you here, so we'll need to be very cautious." Mist nodded her understanding, carefully rising from her seat and bowing in gratitude. 

"Thank you," she whispered, smiling weakly, her eyes glittering damp at the edges. "I was... I was beginning to fear there was no hope left..."

"You've got plenty of hope," Kiran said fiercely. The sight of Mist's tears was not easy to bear. "I'm undefeated against Veronica. I don't intend to end the streak." 

Mist laughed delicately. "You sound like Soren." 

 

It was a short march to Mugill, not even half a day. They left in the early evening and arrived, as Kiran had hoped, well into the night - but the cloud cover had lifted some, and as a result there was not nearly as much darkness as before. 

Though she hadn't ordered anyone to keep Mist's "interrogation" quiet, Kiran still found herself a little surprised by how quickly word of the outcome seemed to spread through the Order - and dismayed by how quickly it brought the mood down. It didn't affect her strategy directly, but the Order's sense of confidence following Flaguerre had been very reassuring to her, and it was troubling now to see it fading. Not to mention fueling Kiran's own doubts.

_Why would Alfonse hide this?_

Outwardly, Kiran wanted to say she would have understood, and she would have taken the job anyway. But it was hard to say for sure. Mist was not the first of Veronica's heroes she'd looked in the face; they were every bit as vibrant and overwhelmingly _real_ as Kiran's own, and no less fascinating or inspiring to behold; just... they were enemies. Kiran had pushed herself past that, past any feeling of guilt, with the understanding that she was freeing them. But now that that understanding was called into question... what was left? 

Even Sharena seemed to be feeling down, in spite of her normally unbreakable positivity; she loved the Heroes seemingly just as much as Kiran did, so naturally it was hard for her to bear Mist's warning. But alongside that remained her worry for her brother... and now, trying to understand why they hadn't been told about the nature of Veronica's worlds. Why would Alfonse had kept something so important from them? The best they could do was put the question out of mind until they reached Alfonse and could ask, but... 

But in this case that just served to remind Kiran that their current position was distinctly worrisome. 

As best she could, she focused her attention on her plan to assail the fortress. There were many concerns still to be addressed, such as the likelihood of another very dangerous confrontation with Xander and Zelgius, along with anyone else of a similar caliber that Veronica had summoned. If Sanaki was correct and the binding was in Serenes Forest, Veronica would have no reason to hold anything back in Mugill's defense - there was probably nowhere better than here to make her stand, so Kiran should expect this to be the fiercest battle of her campaign in Tellius, too. 

So. She needed to get inside the main wall, then storm the keep and find Alfonse. She doubted that Veronica would allow them an easy victory a second time just because the wall was lost; she had to be prepared to fight in the courtyard, the city outside, and the keep - and worse, likely all at once. And she had to reunite Mist with the Greil Mercenaries... or at least with Reyson, wherever he was... without Veronica knowing, and ordering her death with whoever was still loyal to her. It wasn't exactly an easy battle to coordinate in her mind.

"Um, summoner?" 

"Kiran is fine," Kiran said absently, not even taking in the speaker's voice until she'd turned around already. But the voice came from above her, astride a horse - Eirika! "Oh," Kiran gasped, earnestly taken aback, "what - um - can I help?" 

A shadow of a smile crossed Eirika's face, before it returned to its prior solemn expression. Something about it struck Kiran: even in worry Eirika's face was still full of emotion. Kiran was used to expressions full of defeat and weariness, but Eirika was not defeated nor weary at all; her concern was still entirely sincere, and she was ready to commit her full attention to it. Somehow that felt strange, but not at all in a bad way. In fact it was rather reassuring. "There are troubling rumors passing between the others," Eirika explained; she must have seen the way Kiran's lips tightened, and she sighed with despair. "It can't be," she whispered. "You can't mean to tell me that it's true...?" 

"I don't know for sure yet," Kiran said firmly. "Anna said it was just a theory, but Mist seemed convinced."

"Prince Alfonse did say that they weren't sure," Mist agreed, riding on Kiran's other side now. "But he said that the explanation made sense, and Soren and Ike seemed to think it lined up with some things that Veronica and her cronies were telling us when they first got here."

"Veronica knows," Eirika gasped, in horror. "Oh, that's... I can barely imagine it. A dark god storms into your world and demands your loyalty, telling you that you'll fade into nothingness if you don't follow her..." 

"It wasn't quite that dramatic," Mist laughed hollowly, "but, yes, it has been horrible. Everyone has felt so broken and helpless. It's all we can do to keep looking up to Ike and Soren for our chances at victory, but with Veronica's own power failing... it's felt like just a matter of time."

 

Kiran halted their march shortly after; with the lighting situation such as it was, they wouldn't be able to reach striking distance before they were spotted, so she wanted to be sure they were fully prepared before getting there. 

She called her team leads to her first; there were many more now than just the three she usually kept with her. Hector, Chrom, and Lyn now each led a team of infantry; Eliwood, Eirika, and Leo led their cavalry, Minerva, Hinoka, and a freshly-recovered Camilla led their fliers, and Sanaki and Julia - the 'siege magi' - were in attendance as well. Eirika's concern was echoed repeatedly as more of their leaders arrived, and Kiran's confirmation felt less like an answer than she thought it should. They wanted something else from her, something she didn't know how to give. Not yet. 

But she did have a strategy, so she started there. As usual, Julia and Sanaki would attack the wall from a great range; their infantry archers and all their mages would move close once the attack began, and provide cover for the fliers to attack using another dust-storm formation. Kiran wanted to claim the wall quickly, just like before, but they would need to be much more careful this time - rather than relying on precise timing to overcome the enemy all at once. Heavy infantry would move through the gate first - led by Chrom and Hector - then Eirika and Eliwood's units would follow behind, with Leo just after them, and then Lyn last. They would need to clear a path for Sanaki and Julia to enter the fortress safely, so that their attention could turn to the main keep. 

Here, things became complicated, so she gave them a general sense of what to expect and decided to save the finer details for the heat of the moment. In essence, one team of heavy infantry would need to storm the keep and rescue Alfonse, while another maintained control of the plaza at the city's center where Julia and Sanaki would be doing their work. Even once the keep was taken, the nature and great range of their magic made them valuable as long as they were well-protected. Eirika's team was assigned the task of ensuring Mist's safe delivery to Ike and Soren; the others would be sent to deal with threats as they arose. Everyone seemed satisfied with the sense of direction, so Kiran left it at that. 

"Our goal is to drive Veronica out of the fortress," Kiran continued, "preferably while recapturing Alfonse and 'capturing' the Greil Mercenaries. That will likely involve a final stage confrontation with Veronica herself, which we'll have to plan on the fly. Is everyone clear?" She was met with nods and soft affirmations, and that was good, but something about their responses weren't satisfying. "Does anyone have anything they'd like to add?" she added, unable to help her anxious tone.

"There was some hope that this might be our final confrontation with Embla," Eliwood observed, rubbing his chin. "Have we backed down from that goal, and are now content with driving her back?" 

"We can't strike her down," Eirika said softly. "How shall we defeat her otherwise?" 

"I take it everyone here has heard the rumors, then," Hector rumbled. There were a few solemn nods; Hector's eyebrows arched, and he sighed heavily and shook his head. "Do you have something to say about that, Summoner?"

Kiran sighed and pursed her lips, nodding slowly. "I don't have any way to disprove Mist's claims," she said quietly. "She says there may be a chance for her to defeat Veronica without killing or unbinding her, and I'm going to invest in that until I have a very clear reason not to." 

"If that doesn't work," Hector added, "what's the plan?" 

Mist wasn't in the room. Kiran locked eyes with Sanaki instead. Sanaki didn't speak. It was the first time their gazes had met and Kiran wasn't the one that seemed to want to flinch. 

"We'll figure that out when we get there," Kiran said softly. "Whatever else happens, Veronica is to be captured if possible, but not harmed. Not with the knowledge we have now." Sanaki smiled faintly, nodding in gratitude; there seemed to be a collective sigh of relief, and Kiran allowed herself to join in. 

"Bold statement," Anna hummed, behind her, too soft for the others to hear. "Fingers crossed it pans out." 

"Don't you start," Kiran growled back. 

She dismissed them to ready their teams after that, but when they walked back to the main road where the others were waiting it felt as though she had walked back into the dark cloud that had hung over them moments before, the assurance all but wasted. "Everyone seems to nervous," Sharena whispered beside her, as they walked towards the front of the formation. "Is it going to be okay like this?" 

Kiran hadn't been sure before if she could do anything, but... well, she'd helped reassure some of them, at least... "I guess I should tell them what we plan on doing," she murmured. Sharena glanced at her, a little confused - since that was what the strategy meeting was for, after all. "With Veronica," Kiran clarified. 

"Oh. Oh!" All of a sudden she was beaming. "Kiran, you should - I think everyone would appreciate if you addressed them all at once, you know?" 

"I - yes?" Kiran blinked, caught unawares, realizing only narrowly too late what Sharena meant. Panic flooded her as Sharena turned around and bounced on her heels, drawing the nearby Heroes' attention. 

"Everyone," Sharena called, raising her arms, "Kiran has something she'd like to say before we continue." She gestured back to Kiran, then hurriedly guided Kiran backwards to the crest of tiny hill ahead of them on the road - giving her just the faintest boost in height, so that she was more visible to the entire company. Then she scurried back and waited, beaming. 

Kiran stared at her for a moment, appalled, but this clearly was not going away or getting better. Facing the Heroes again - seeing Eirika and Eliwood watching her expectantly with small smiles on their faces, Hector seeming rather amused by Kiran's discomfort, Sanaki watching with an expectant look - it was so much to take in that the moment drove all thoughts out of her mind. For a moment, she could think only of how insanely, bafflingly lucky she was to be the one standing here, with all of their eyes on her, looking for encouragement. How... how absurd was that? How... fortunate.

The silence had gone on too long. She laughed awkwardly, and words began to stumble out of her unbidden; it was all she could do to try to corral them in some general direction resembling what she wanted to say. 

"I-I'm sorry," she started, "I was just - I was just thinking how lucky I am to... to be a part of the Order of Heroes, to have this chance to work with men and women like all of you. People with great responsibilities and great accomplishments, people that found hope in times of darkness and took responsibility for making the change the world needed, defending people that couldn't defend themselves, or stopping a catastrophe before it could do any more harm. People that - that more normal folks like me look up to." 

Eirika's smile grew. Kiran remembered when they talked - a week ago? Just about that - she remembered Eirika's assurance that she really did belong, that the others admired and looked up to her for being just a normal person that made them feel appreciated. Someone that validated their struggle. She drew herself up and continued. 

"Originally I joined the Order," she said, "because I couldn't stand the idea that someone was going around destroying the futures that you built, stealing the lives you protected, unmaking the peace you had worked so hard to achieve. Maybe, looking back on that decision, maybe it was selfish of me to presume I had the power to decide whether or not that was fair. Selfish of me to decide that your stories should have ended, and that what Embla was doing wrong was challenging you again at all. It was a mindset that came from seeing you only as legends, myths from other worlds I would never visit. 

"But now that I'm here - here, months later, having walked long miles beside you, fought through skirmish and siege with you, listened to your worries, laughed at some of your jokes, watched your reunions - I've realized where I went astray. For you, your story is still only just beginning. Where our myths ended, you were only leaving a single horrible, bloody chapter behind, and turning back to the story you had hoped to tell about yourself in the first place." 

She turned full circle, gesturing at the pass around them. "This place has a name," she said. "I don't know what it is. I wouldn't have ever thought about it; it's just the road between these two fortresses, and those fortresses are just notes in a history book somewhere. But now I stand here and I realize the beauty of this place is in all the little things that were never written down. The beauty of your stories lay in the people that lived them - in _you_. The history books remember your convictions, your responsibility, your drive do to what was right in the face of great danger. But they don't remember your dreams. They don't remember your hopes. The things that you laugh at, the things that you cook for dinner, the things that you look forward to seeing when you've got a few days to yourself to travel. And now I get to see them, and I - I can't help but be overwhelmed by it. By how wonderful it is to see you all have a chance to live something close to happily." 

She gestured to Eliwood. "I cried when you saw your son again," she admitted. Eliwood laughed - Lyn and Hector both cheered at the top of their lungs. "And again," Kiran continued through giggles, "when Roy saw his mother again." She gestured to Lucina. "I cried when you and your brother were reuinited, too. And I couldn't stop thinking about the way you and Severa kept looking at each other, even though you never got a chance to talk." Lucina blushed sweetly, as Inigo - that is, Laslow - clapped her shoulder. Instinctively Kiran thought to gesture to Lachesis - but she wasn't here, and neither was Celica. There was a short pause as Kiran's thoughts had to reorganize, and in the slowly growing silence something new rose. Her throat grew tight. It was hard to speak loudly without choking. 

"I was so happy that I got to see those moments of happiness for you," she managed to shout. "I was so happy to think that maybe I'd done something good for the people I looked up to. And that's... That's what really made me want to join the Order, that's why I keep doing this day after day." 

She gestured behind herself, her movements sharp and bitter. She knew what the feeling bubbling up in her was now. It wasn't simple sadness - it was _anger_ , stronger than she'd ever felt before, not because she was angry beyond her control but because _all_ of her feelings were that strong. "Behind us," she cried, "there are people terrified that they'll never have the freedom they fought for. There are people that are afraid that they'll live their lives as footsoldiers for a foreign god's army, or else be condemned to fade to nothingness. They won't _get_ to look back to those dreams, to laugh or to smile or to look forward to tomorrow. They've earned that right, but Embla has taken it away. 

" _That_ is the crime the Order of Heroes exists to punish." Kiran lowered her arm, facing the Heroes fully now. "Our mission is freedom and salvation for the Heroes from all worlds, and that has not changed, nor will it change. Mist believes there's still hope that her world can be saved, that Veronica can be stopped and they can live on with what's left, and that hope is what we're going to chase. We won't settle for an ending where heroes choose between slavery or death!"

Kiran had meant only to pause, but Hector bellowed something with a roaring grin and a raised axe, and before Kiran knew it the Heroes were raising their weapons, some shouting along with him - some that surprised her, she saw Eirika say something, Sanaki too - while others smiled, or even clapped over their tomes. 

"We will make a new path instead," Kiran shouted along with them. "We won't rest until we find the peace and prosperity that this land deserved, because that's what Heroes do!"


	6. Chapter 6

Xander had seen enough of Kiran's attacks to have an idea what to expect now, and how to prepare an adequate defense. When the Order of Heroes fanned out in formation on the road ahead of the fortress, Embla's defenders were as ready as they could be. It wasn't much - but it was something more than nothing.

Eight units of archers manned the walls, each with an attendant cleric - equipped with Barrier - and a wind mage. Barrier staves weren't optional. They didn't have many left after passing them out, and their magical defense would be dramatically reduced if they lost the wall. But if they didn't use them now, they might as well not man the battlements at all. They knew that, and they had seen the price of failure. 

The pale girl with the lavender hair, the Dragon's Spirit as the Emblian soldiers called her, stood at the center of a wide circle of her own troops, as they gave her space to cast her magic. Xander shouted for the Barriers to be cast, in response. The dragon of light burst from the earth surrounding the girl, coiling upwards into the sky - it loosed a terrible, deafening roar and turned its attention to the wall. A beam of white-violet energy burst from its spectral maw, dragging along the main battlement, the worst of its energy glancing off of the magical barriers - but dust and shouts of pain and panic rose up from them nonetheless, as the ground under the defenders' feet began to crack and give way.

Next came the closer-ranged support, as the Order's cavalry magi rode into range, cast powerful spells aimed at the defenders and their fortifications, and then darted back to give way to infantry archers that fired through the newly-weakened vulnerabilities - and repeat. They alone wouldn't have the firepower to force a retreat from the wall, or to give room for the Order's infantry to reach the gate, but they wouldn't need to; the Order had a better flier corps than most armies could ever hope for. They used the same dust-storm formation that Flaguerre's survivors had described, but now with even greater offensive pressure thanks both to the massive light dragon's attacks and the continual hit-and-run barrages from the ground. 

Xander understood what Soren meant, watching this play out. Kiran had become very talented at overtaking fortifications. A simple fortress such as this would not prove a threat to her. But unlike last time, merely opening the gate wasn't sufficient for victory. 

"They'll take the wall before long, like this," the knight beside him observed, as though more bemused by the thought than worried. Xander didn't like it. 

"I doubt we can stop them there," Xander said sourly. "But if you'd like to thin their ranks before they do, be my guest." 

"I thought you'd never ask." The dark knight vanished in a ray of light, and Xander turned back to the wall in time to see him reappear there and wade into the fray. 

That would do for now. He had other matters to tend to, before things got out of hand. 

 

Kiran had prepared them for Black Knight's arrival. Just like before, the tactician's orders had been very clear. But just like before, Camilla had not been so willing to commit to running away. 

She swooped in as Est's pegasus staggered back from a blow that might've split her in two had her reactions not been so quick; her wyvern, sporting a new scar from the false Xander's blade, spread her wings to assert herself between the Black Knight and the stunned junior knight; Camilla herself twirled her axe ahead of herself, making her challenge clear. 

"I remember you," the knight hummed, advancing slowly; though before he had held a clear combat stance, as he walked it faded away and grew more casual, more carefree. His holy blade shimmered threateningly in his fist regardless. "Your tenacity against the Princess' chosen vanguard was quite impressive," he admitted. "You seemed quite agitated - some history together, perhaps?"

"Xander is my brother," Camilla growled, her good humor burned away in an instant. "I will not abide his betrayal. But you are a matter entirely different."

"Yes, I am no traitor," the knight agreed, raising his sword slowly, clutching it in both hands. "So what say you? Will you test my steel?" 

Camilla's wyvern shifted beneath her. "Easy, love," she whispered, without thinking. She drew herself up, pointing her axe at him, tossing her head to clear hair from her face. "I think so," she said, and she smiled bitterly. "But not alone." 

The knight glanced aside, but still had only a split second' swarning to defend against Hinoka's sprinting strike; Camilla urged her mount to the skies. 

"Who is this guy?" Hinoka shouted, as they crossed each other's air space. "He took my lance like it was nothing!"

"I don't know," Camilla growled back, "but whatever you do, don't get hit." 

She'd learned well from Lachesis' example, after all: you don't need to kill him. You just have to keep him from hitting anybody else.

They circled the knight, skating off of the wall and battlements and making swift attacks more intended to impede his movement than to inflict lasting damage. Minerva saw them, from further down the wall; hastily she barked out orders, changing formation, changing her plan. It didn't take a tactical genius to understand what Camilla was doing. Kiran's plan remained: Open the gate. She and the Whitewings could do that, even without Camilla and Hinoka, if they acted fast enough. Hinoka heard, too, and shouted orders to her own flight; Caeda raised her sword and took command. 

Kiran saw them, too. She shouted for Julia to change targets, and Julia - absorbed deep in her spell, but not so much that she could not hear the Summoner's voice - searched the wall for her new target. The great dragon coiled above her loosed an ominous growl as she began to focus. 

"The princesses are too close," Julia cried. "I'll hit them..." 

"I told them to maintain distance," Kiran hissed angrily. "Delay your shot, but watch for an opening! When they pull back, let him have it!" 

But the growl had given her away. The Black Knight turned and saw the dragon's gaze focused on him.

"I think not," he scoffed, raising Alondite, calling upon its power. The blade began to glow; Kiran gasped, and Camilla shouted wordlessly in alarm. 

The wyvern lord urged her mount into a sharp dive, angling up at a narrow height from the battlement and rocketing towards the knight from over his left shoulder; at the last moment she whispered a soft reassurance to the wyvern and guided them into a tight roll - flipping sideways, the wyvern's wings tucked in for speed, as they passed over the knight's head upside-down; Camilla's axe sang as she slammed it into the Black Knight's sword below them, and his strike went wide, carving the mountainside beyond Mugill's walls and sending rocks tumbling to the valley below - but missing the Order's formation entirely. Camilla's axe was cloven in two for its trouble, but she dropped its hilt and shook out her hands; as her wyvern settled back down on the wall again, she retrieved a Thunder tome at her side instead. 

"That was terribly brave of you," the knight said humorlessly. Camilla was grinning. 

This would have been a great time for Julia to fire, but her spell had been disrupted - because Kiran had lunged in and pulled her aside, hoping desperately to move her out of the attack's path. Julia was breathing fast, startled but unharmed, gathering herself hastily as Kiran ensured she was still standing firm. 

"I-I'm sorry," Kiran laughed awkwardly. "About - about disrupting the spell."

"No, it's fine," Julia gasped, smiling earnestly. "It's just fine. It will take me a moment to cast again, that's all. I was just... surprised you would lunge in like that." 

"Julia!" Kiran whirled around - Eirika had rode up from her formation, with Mist lagging faintly behind. "Is everything okay?" the princess asked, half in a panic. "I saw the spell end suddenly - I was worried!"

"I'm fine, Eirika," Julia promised. "Kiran saved me." 

"I-I kinda just wasted your spell," Kiran said bashfully, her neck growing hot. "Camilla was the one that stopped the attack from hitting you." 

"Was that what that was?" Eirika breathed, glancing up at the mountainside in horror. "Gods, if that had hit you - I'm so glad you were there, Kiran. I can't imagine..." She shook her head, beaming. "I'm glad you're safe," she finished, instead. "I'll get back to formation."

"Thank you for checking on me," Julia called, as Eirika turned her horse around and returned to her group. The mage giggled sweetly, and smiled back to Kiran. "And thank you again, really. Even if it's something small like moving me out of the way, it still helps to know that you'll look after me when I'm casting."

"Well, of course," Kiran mumbled, looking away. "I'm not going to just let people walk up and hit you, that'd be absurd." 

Julia giggled again. "You're a good person," she said kindly. "Shall I continue?" 

But at that moment, Catria - heaving against a turnwheel far away, with Est guarding her flank - shouted something, Palla heard that from outside the gatehouse and shouted it louder into the open, and Minerva heard that and spurred her wyvern to clutch the upper battlement above the gate, raising Hauteclere high. 

"No," Kiran sighed, smiling with relief, "it looks like the gate's opened. We should get ready to move." She raised her voice. "Hector! Chrom! Get your units inside the wall!" 

Eirika and Leo heard the order and carried it forward; Eirika and Eliwood guided their formations forward, preparing for their turn to enter the breach, as Hector raised Armads to acknowledge Minerva's signal. The wall was overcome; the first stage of the attack was over. 

 

First through the gate was Corrin, and beside her, Tiki. The dragons made for excellent wallbreakers; their natural armor was excellent, their mobility was surprisingly great, and the power of their attacks was immense. They just needed a few moments at a time to recover before striking again. Once they had cleared the initial path, Hector and Chrom surged in with reinforcements just behind, ensuring that the area around the gate was safe, and that gave room for Eirika and Eliwood to ride in unimpeded. Surviving watchers at the wall were forced to flee in awkward directions, cut off from the battle, and the pegasus knights were given free reign to join the fray at the front. 

As the cavalry lords made to push past the main street, however, the Black Knight appeared in a great beam of heavenly light ahead of them - Eirika's horse skidded to a stop in fright, and she raised Sieglinde in a hasty, desperate parry as she realized his sword was already raised and alight with power - but Ephraim rode directly past her, thrusting Siegmund into his shoulder and shoving him back. The blade glanced across his armor with a hellish screech, but the force of the blow was enough to stagger him, and Ephraim quickly rode around and positioned himself between the knight and his sister again, making his intent clear. 

"Eirika, keep going," he shouted. 

"Brother," Eirika gasped, distraught even as she knew she shouldn't stop him. "Brother, please be careful!" 

"You know me," Ephraim called back, and Eirika didn't need to ask what he meant. Ephraim did not pick he fights he could not win.

"You're making a grave mistake," the knight warned. "You don't know what that girl is carrying."

"It gives her hope," Ephraim replied, "and that's what matters." Eirika, Mist, and the others rode behind him and down a different street, in search of Mist's companions. Ephraim did not flinch, and the knight's gaze did not leave his.

"Hope," the knight repeated darkly. "Perhaps, but for whom?" 

Eliwood had taken a different turn - his objective being to clear the path to the central courtyard. But waiting there was a broad formation of mounted knights, bearing swords and axes, and at their helm was Prince Xander. Eliwood rode a few paces ahead of his formation, meaning to address the prince, and Xander moved forward in kind. 

"Well met," Eliwood called. He was aware that he did not have an especially threatening presence, and that awareness had always served him well in the past. 

"A bold greeting," Xander replied icily. Eliwood hadn't heard that response before. "Princess Veronica has made clear her will. Leave this city, or perish by my blade."

"The Order of Heroes does not care to select the lesser of bitter ends," Eliwood called back. "You seem very loyal to the Emblian Princess. Why is that?" 

"I have my reasons," Xander growled. "Stand fast. This is no place for idle chatter." 

"En garde," Eliwood agreed dourly, clenching Durandal, and raising his voice to address the riders behind him: "Keep moving! Don't chase them, draw them to you and maintain formation!" 

Their job was not to defeat Xander; they would wear out the central yard's defenders, and one of the heavy infantry teams would come in to drive them away. This was one of the many keys to battle, one that Kiran - for such a young tactician - seemed to understand well: victory does not always require death. It spoke well to her morals... and to her strengths as a strategist. In a way, in fact, Eliwood thought her style was rather familiar - but he wouldn't find words to voice that for quite some time. 

Chrom's unit maintained their position at the gate until the Order's leadership, along with Sanaki and Julia, had finally arrived at the back of their formation. By that time, fighting at the front of the city had all but stopped; Lyn's unit was now defending side-streets and ensuring no one had a clear path to the gate, while Hector had moved towards the city center and would be reaching it soon. 

"That's good," Kiran sighed, as Chrom finished updating her. They had not stopped walking; Kiran was distantly worried that the girls might be trailing behind them, but Julia had insisted many times so far not to worry about her. "How are the fliers?"

"Camilla's unit is supporting Ephraim," Chrom explained, "I think they ran into the Black Knight. Minerva reported that Eirika's search of the city is underway, but they're still running into resistance that's making progress slow." Kiran nodded; this was expected. Eirika's work was deceptively dangerous, essentially trying to comb the enemy back lines without support from the main force. "Minerva is moving to flank the central plaza, and Hinoka's team is supporting her - but we expected she'd join up with us once we moved out."

"That's good," Kiran agreed. "We'll inform them when we arrive. You should start towards the far wall, towards Serenes, but don't push too far. The wall isn't the objective, we just want to create pressure."

"Don't you want us to escort you to the plaza?" Chrom said blankly. "I thought..." 

"We'll be fine on our own," Kiran promised, gesturing to Anna and Sharena; as she glanced back she saw Sanaki waving with a dangerous smile, too. She kind of wondered if this was one of the other only ways the Apostle knew how to have fun. 

 

When Eirika rounded a corner to find the Black Knight suddenly standing before her again, she almost screamed just from sheer shock. They had tracked a long path through the city since leaving Ephraim behind - he shouldn't have been able to outpace them, even with all of their backtracking and the small skirmishes, but then again, she already knew he could somehow teleport; that was how he imposed himself in their path in the first place. 

The moment she collected herself enough, her eyes traced the edge of the man's blade. "Your blade is clean," she remarked. "My brother yet lives."

"Yes, he does," the knight called back, his disdain coming through clear. "Less of a heroic knight and more an annoyance, that one. But I admit, the only way to defeat one such as I is not to fight at all. So his wisdom is to be praised, at least, if not his honor." 

"Eirika," Mist gasped, behind her. The others had caught up, it seemed. Eirika hazarded only a swift glance back, unwilling to take her eyes off the knight for a moment. "Eirika," Mist pressed, "you can't fight him. Only Ike was ever able to defeat him, and even then, he needed a sword blessed by the goddess - without that..." 

"I understand," Eirika promised, taking a deep breath. "Well, then, sir knight; I believe we're going to have to take a different path to our goal. Are you going to tire yourself out attempting to outrun our horses, or will you make yourself useful elsewhere?"

"You as well, I see," the knight rumbled, and he laughed, once and then twice. "It matters not what you do. This world has been judged already."

"By whose authority is this land sentenced to destruction?" Eirika called.

"By the Goddess herself," the Knight replied decisively. "Veronica's arrival brings forth doom that the Goddess has already ordained. If not at the hands of Embla, this world will perish nonetheless."

"And you've just accepted that?!" Mist cried. "You're just going to let it happen?"

"No," the Knight replied, hefting his sword. "I'm going to _ensure_ it happens."

Eirika made to reply to that - or rather, to put the conversation to a swift end - but another voice cut high on the wind above them: "So this is where you've scampered off to, General!" Looking up Eirika caught the swooping shadow of a wyvern, its armor trimmed in gold and red accents, touching down on the corner of a building across from them and looming like a gargoyle; the blonde man astride it stood partway in his saddle and glared down at them with an imperious smile. "Aha," he cried, "the rumors of treason are true, then!" 

"Narcian," Mist whispered; Eirika noted Mist's grip tightening on her staff, and she imposed herself between Mist and the newcomer, leveling her sword at him. Around them, more wyvern riders were gathering - a unit under Narcian's command, most likely.

"General Narcian," Eirika intoned, glaring. "You with the impunity to attack the Askrian castle directly, as I recall." 

"And it would've worked, too," Narcian snarled, his poise replaced instantly with spitting rage, "but no, the Prince's bumbling vanguard got caught up in a scuffle with his sister, instead of following orders and being done with it! But that mistake shall be remedied today!" Narcian turned to the Black Knight, who had propped up his sword in the road beneath him. "You," the wyvern lord cried, "are to return to the central plaza at once!" 

"Take care to accomplish your mission this time," the Knight said coolly. "Veronica will be most displeased if you fail."

"I know that," Narican growled, "you should be grateful for my decision to take over!" Regardless, the Knight took his leave, and Narcian returned his attention to Eirika and Mist, donning a nauseating grin. "So then, Mist," he crooned. "I'm looking forward to meting out your punishment personally. Your vaunted brother and his tactician have fallen out of Veronica's favor - no one will come running to your defense once I've got my hands on you. Do you understand?" 

Mist shuddered with revulsion; Eirika's eyes flashed, and thunder rumbled dangerously overhead, though the princess herself did not hear. "Not another word from you, knave," Eirika seethed, a boiling anger rising in her that she only distantly recognized as her own. 

"I'm not afraid of you," Mist shouted, behind her. "You're just another noble that thinks status gives them power. I don't need Ike to deal with someone like you!" 

"Attagirl!" Severa pranced up alongside them as well, her bow drawn, grinning through Narcian's infuriated, slanderous response. "Alright, princess," the redhead cooed, ignoring Narcian entirely, "we gotta keep moving, so where to?"

"Towards the keep," Eirika said quietly, her eyes fixed on Narcian as he now drew his blade and prepared his first strike. "We misunderstood the situation - it sounds like Veronica doesn't trust Mist's friends enough to deploy them here." 

"Makes sense," Severa agreed. 

"I hope you're right," Mist added nervously. "I hope they're not hurt!" 

"I'm sure they're safe," Eirika agreed. "Now, let's move!" 

All together they broke to the north, galloping out of the street as Narcian and his wyverns dove towards them; they evaded the initial attack, but the wyverns were swift, and within moments the entire formation was swooping above and behing them, ready for a chase. Eirika had to hope that the battle was proceeding well ahead of her - without a wide, clear space to fight in, Narcian's wyverns would decimate them. 

"Princess Eirika," Mist gasped, beside her - Eirika only barely heard over their hooves. "Do you see that?" 

She was pointing to the sky; Eirika looked up, at first searching for changes in the cloudy sky above them, and it certainly had changed; clouds though too wispy to obscure the moon now rushed by at high speed and a strangely low altitude - but that wasn't what Mist was pointing at. Mist was pointing at two white birds, so luminous and pure they almost seemed angelic, flying in wide circles high above and far ahead of them. 

"Herons?" Eirika breathed, both bewildered and awestruck. "Why are they here? They seem unsteady - are they hurt?"

"They're huge!" Severa gasped. "I know herons are big birds and all, but - " 

"We've got to follow them," Mist urged them. "Please trust me, we have to reach them before Veronica does!" 

 

Corrin had been relishing this chance, in a way. She had been dreading it too, of course. The moment that a battlefield parted before her, as always it did, to find that only Xander stood in her path. 

Her head was splitting and it was hard to think over the agony. The fighting around them sounded dim and garbled, as though they were all far underwater; she could hear only her own breathing, the thundering of her own heart, and all else was chaos. All things considered, she was doing alright, for such a large battle. At least she still felt like she could control herself. 

"Brother," she rumbled. Her voice came out like a metallic screech in dragon form, and in this case, she rather liked that. She was angry, and the voice suited her anger. 

"You know that's a lie," Xander called back, his horse beginning to pace. "We owe one another nothing, Corrin. Face me as you would any other foe."

"How can you say that?" Corrin hissed, advancing with one iron fist, then the other. "After everything we went through together, after all the bleeding I had to do to convince you to trust me - "

"I am not the Xander you remember," he interrupted, his voice cold and deep. "I am not Xander, Prince of Nohr. I am the guardian of the Lord of Elivagar, Veronica. I am your enemy, and that's all." 

"When we met before, you called me your sister," Corrin roared. "Why are you doing this?! What changed?!"

"I have no explanation that will satisfy you," Xander growled. "Not so long as you confuse me with someone I'm not. Face me, Corrin, or perish." 

"I gave you a chance," Corrin snarled. "It's the only one you'll get!" 

She lunged, slamming her horns into the brick beneath her fist-hooves and dragging them along the ground in an upward strike; Xander pranced to the side but Corrin threw her weight in that direction, shoulder-charging his horse and flaring her wings into his chest, before raising herself up and slamming her front hooves down on top of him. Corrin had been fighting continuously for long enough that her ferocity had fully returned to her; if not for Siegfried's divine protection Xander's horse at least would surely have perished, but the blade's aura pulsed dangerously beneath her attacks and granted him enough time to guide his mount away from her, turning to retaliate as she gathered herself again. 

But Corrin had no need to wait for his attack, nor to try to block it; she lowered her head, her horns now jutting out ahead of her, and swiped her neck sideways - Xander's horse whinnied as she skidded to a panicked stop ahead of her, and Xander's attack was stymied. In the wake of it Corrin lunged forward, but Xander had already prepared his own defense, blocking her lashing horns with Siegfried and slashing at her head to force her to back away, then firing a pulse of black fire at her shoulder that stunned her and forced her to stumble backwards. 

That was the opening he had hoped for - lunging in fully now, he slashed at her shoulders and the base of her long neck, the divine blade leaving a gashing wound near the base of her wing as Corrin's hurried escape was clumsy; she stumbled but managed to push herself away, but she wasn't faster than Xander's horse, and he continued to chase inside her range and hack at her exposed joints. She tried to throw him off balance with her wings, but he was prepared for that and ducked under them, then slashed at the exposed underside, drawing a screech of pain from her as she hurriedly backed away again, seeing stars. 

But this time, Xander didn't close on her again; someone else had rode between them, an extravagant spearhead catching Siegmund's black edge and forcing it away. It took Corrin a moment to gather herself enough to recognize him. "Ephraim!" 

"That looked painful," Ephraim called back. "You okay?"

"I'll manage," Corrin growled, breathing deeply, continuing to steady herself. She tried to look around, hoping to catch sight of someone else to reassure her - Roy was here somewhere, she knew, but she couldn't see him. She heard Camilla's voice - she looked around wildly, thinking she might have attacked Xander, but she was still swooping high overhead and what drew Corrin's eye was a Thunder spell from above; Corrin had almost forgotten Camilla could cast magic! Of course, study of magic was an integral part of the education of any Nohrian royal, but that didn't mean they were all especially good at it. Camilla must have lost her axe somehow. 

Xander responded with another wave of black fire, but Camilla swooped low beneath it and touched down beside Corrin; Corrin whined without thinking, instinctively trying to nuzzle her, and Camilla caught her with one hand, stroking between her horns. "There, there," she whispered, but Corrin could hear a quivering rage underneath. She was the only one more furious about Xander's allegiance than Corrin herself. 

"I've got to keep fighting him," Corrin panted. "I can stop him!" 

"Not alone," Camilla whispered. "Never alone, dearest." Warmth spread through Corrin's wounded wing, at first numbing her - but as feeling returned to her nerves the pain didn't return, and she turned slowly to see Elise behind her, still brandishing her Mend staff. 

"How's your wing?" Elise chirped, leaning in to apply energy to Corrin's wounded shoulder. "You doing okay?"

"Better, now that you're here," Corrin sighed. She felt exhausted. She wanted to transform back. But in the middle of a battlefield, she couldn't. She had to wait for an opening, some reprieve, first; even just this moment of rest, relying on Ephraim and whoever else was with him to occupy Xander's attention, felt dangerous enough to give her anxiety. Elise and Camilla both started with worry, though, likely reacting to the fatigue in her voice; she bristled, trying to flex. "I can't," she growled. "I can't rest. We're not done." 

"Don't push yourself too hard," Elise said nervously. "I saw enough of that in Valla already!" 

"We can take over if you need to rest," Camilla promised. Corrin looked around, baffled by that sentiment, baffled by the idea that they would _allow_ her to rest - but it seemed almost like the entire Order was here; now, calmed down and removed from the worst of the fighting, she picked out Roy and Lyn carving a path through the enemy's front line - a towering man in armor and a broad, angled blade standing in their path. Roy's friend Lilina was guiding their mages in bringing down enemy fliers before they could find flanks, a watchful eye cast to Roy now and then, as well. 

Leo and Cecilia - Corrin knew they were together now, and watching them fight together brought her joy, as they danced to and fro like waves battering down a cliffside, finding clean attacks at range and sweeping back for a new angle again. Eliwood swept into the gaps that they created, though on and off he sparred with a brutal knight that had once announced himself as Berkut in the World of Shadows; Corrin remembered taking a glancing blow from his lance at one point. And there too was Hinoka, perched atop a tall building near the plaza's edge, watching them, waiting for Camilla to rejoin her; there was Takumi with a small team of archers applying pressure to cover Lyn's unit near the front. 

Slowly she took it all in, absorbing the state of the battle. With her and Ephraim's help, Xander had been pushed back, nearing the keep's gate; there were no walls here to enclose them, and Corrin could see reinforcements coming in, but their objective - to take the city's center and make room for Julia - that was finished. 

"Sakura," Corrin said softly, "where's - ?"

"Back at the gate," Elise said firmly, "to be ready to heal anyone that gets hurt. Hana's with her." 

"That's good," Corrin murmured. "That's good. Okay." She shook her neck, flared her wings, flexed her shoulders. Her heart rate began to climb again. "I feel good," she lied, then shook her head. Her head still hurt, and it would go back to pounding soon, but she denied it in that moment. "I feel good," she said, this time not a lie. "I can keep going."

"Okay," Elise cheered, "I'm here if you need me! Knock 'em all dead, Corrin!" 

"We're all here with you," Camilla promised, rubbing her neck tenderly. "I'll be nearby. Hinoka and I are just a big roar away."

"Thank you," Corrin whispered, nuzzling Camilla's chest. "I love you. Stay alive." 

"I always do," Camilla cooed. 

 

Kiran and her entourage arrived not long after. Julia was wheezing, but assured them she would be alright after a moment's rest; Sanaki did not hesitate, approaching the square's center with long, fast strides, her eyes fixed on the keep above all else. 

"Fire when ready," Kiran shouted, and Sanaki nodded. She probably would have even if Kiran had told her not to. Once Julia had been entrusted to Elise's care, Sharena and Kiran carefully skirted around the square towards the front line, hoping to reach Hector and warn him they would be breaching the keep soon. They didn't really need to worry, though; he'd figure it out soon enough. 

The first and most obvious sign was the change in color. Bathed til now in pale moonlight, the yard was suddenly ablaze in orange and red, bloody light painted on windows and the dust between cobblestones turning to ash; Xander and his soldiers, facing into the square and far enough back to see the spell forming, began to back away with horror. Xander had not seen this spell before, but he was not keen on being hit with it. 

But Sanaki was not content with a simple single cast. She had time, and she had plenty of power at her disposal. This was not about efficiency, nor was it about speed. The fireball soaring and swirling above her continued to grow, and as she stretched her palm upward empowering it, Cymbeline's pages ruffling loudly beside her, she shouted at the top of her lungs: 

"USURPERS OF EMBLA! I AM _SANAKI! KIRSCH! ALTINA! **EMPRESS** OF **BEGNION!**_ " 

The battle was slowing - fighters on both sides were starting to panic, trying to put distance between themselves and the wrathful Apostle. No one was close enough to see her fingers trembling, her legs shaking under her robes; the strain of the spell was growing, but Sanaki was not deterred. She could still go much further than this.

"The protection of this land and its people," Sanaki roared, "is my duty as ordained by the _Goddess Ashunera!_ If you value your lives, throw down your weapons -- " She heaved against her own magic, rolling her entire body forward and dragging the spell above and around her with it - " _\-- AND STAND ASIDE!_ "

For a moment, Sanaki's cries fell to an echoing silence as the fireball slowly ebbed towards the earth, and you'd be forgiven for finding the moment anticlimactic. But once the flames touched the ground, the magnitude of the raw power at work was made overwhelmingly apparent - a massive shockwave rocked the city, its pulse was dampened at the sides and guided forward by Sanaki's focus, channeling the full burst and the reaching, gnawing tongues of flame as they lanced through the earth - all converging on a single point: the keep's gate. 

The aura of a mere sword, or even a suit of armor blessed by the goddess, wouldn't even come close to stopping Sanaki's pure destructive rage. By the time the surging fire had reached its target, everyone had sprinted and dove for cover, desperate not to be in its path; the front gate, the gatehouse, and the outer walls of the keep exploded in a glorious rain of fire, smoke, dust, and charred rock. The path was open, and the might and will of Begnion's empress had been made very clear. 

Sanaki herself had collapsed in the spell's wake, heaving on hands and knees for breath; when Kiran turned back to her Elise had already rode to her side and dropped down to help her to her feet, and Julia was scurrying along behind to ensure she was okay. Sanaki's answer to Elise's concern, however, was a broad, almost devilish grin, and a feeble but sure-spirited cackle. "Behold the fate that awaits the enemies of Begnion!" she croaked, gesturing grandly towards her work; the strip of land between her and the ruined gate was now scorched, bricks glowing incandescent in the wake of the spell's impact. Rallying cries began to rise, as Eliwood and his riders entered the gap first and formed a line to prevent Embla's forces from defending the way inside; Hinoka and Camilla quickly took their place opposite him, crowding the defenders out of their own castle. Like a red carpet of firebreath, the path inside was laid out before Sanaki's feet, and she couldn't help but laugh as she saw it.

"That was a very powerful spell," Julia said emphatically, as she gingerly braced herself under Sanaki's other shoulder, helping her to her feet. 

"I am a very powerful mage," Sanaki agreed boastfully, grinning into her face she stood firm on her own once again. "Though I suspect, not as strong as you." 

"That's an interesting thing to say just after a display like this," Julia said blankly, nodding towards the gate, and Sanaki giggled. 

"We shall see," the Empress hummed. 

 

At that moment Eirika rode in with Mist and her guides - and just behind them came a storm of wyverns; Sanaki shouted a warning and she and Julia quickly began casting their respective spells, and Minerva arrived to help contain them moments later. As she did, however, Sanaki glanced up and saw a pair of great herons, descending behind her; she cried out in shock and ran to greet them as they landed, turning and gesturing urgently to Kiran, though Kiran seemed to have already spotted them and was on her way. 

"We don't have time for this," Hector was shouting behind her, as she and Sharena hurried to the herons' side. "What are these stupid things doing here in the first p-" But then the herons were enveloped in white light, transforming back to their human forms. 

"Reyson!" Mist cried, jumping down from her horse and sprinting over to them. "Leanne, too - I'm so glad you're both okay!" 

Leanne smiled, and spoke something to Mist that the others could not understand; she offered Mist a brief embrace, before accepting the bundle containing the Medallion - but her eyes widened as soon as she touched it. She spoke again nervously; Reyson glanced at her in alarm, then turned to Mist. 

"It was like that when I found it," Mist lamented, shaking her head. "I don't know what to do." 

Leanne replied in a stern voice, turning her attention now to Reyson. "Normally I'd say we should be more careful," Reyson muttered, "but anything will be better than Veronica." Leanne nodded firmly, looking around - she caught Kiran's eye and waved, shouting something and pointing as Reyson turned to face her. 

"M-Me?" Kiran blinked. "Um, hi! Princess - Princess Leanne!"

"Kiran," Hector said lowly, "we've got to hurry."

"I know, give me a moment," Kiran replied, turning back to the herons; Leanne and Reyson were approaching her, which is something she probably would never be able to say without at least freaking out inside a little bit. She managed to draw herself up for them, remembering how dire this situation was for them, taking in their pallid skin, slightly sunken eyes, the fraying at the edges of their wings... 

"You must be the foreigner," Reyson said, bowing lightly; Kiran bowed back without really thinking, still feeling a bit giddy. "I thank you for bringing us the Medallion. Do you know what has happened to it?" 

"Something's in it," Kiran said blankly, shaking her head. "I don't know more than Mist. Our intent was to drive Veronica away to give you more time to understand the situation, and we could come up with a plan." 

Leanne's expression changed to horror, and she shook her head adamantly. "There's no time," Reyson agreed quietly. "The darkness that drives Veronica's power is drawing nearer. We will lose our free will again before long. We must seal her before that happens." 

Kiran took a deep breath. "Then you need the galdr of release, I guess," she murmured. "Free whatever is in there, and then seal Veronica in the emblem once it's empty. But only Micaiah knows the galdr..."

Leanne sighed heavily, murmuring something in a soft, morose voice. "Micaiah perished in the Tower of Guidance," Reyson said softly. "But she taught Leanne the galdr before. She can sing it." 

"Well, that's - " Horrible. Kiran was reeling. "Okay," she managed, shaking her head, "then -- then I guess we have our plan for now. Fall in with us, we'll clear the keep and then you can -- " 

"We have to find Ike," Mist exclaimed, having now caught up to them. "Eirika thought he might be inside!" 

"Yeah," Kiran agreed grimly, "and I think Veronica might be there, too. But it's still better than being out in the open."

"And we must be near Veronica in any case," Reyson added lowly. "We will be entrusting our safety to you until we find Ike and the others." 

Kiran nodded her agreement, and turned back to Hector. "I know we're in a rush," she said, choosing carefully not to comment on Hector's dumbfounded expression - she probably would look like that too if she hadn't already known about the Heron Laguz, and she kind of felt it still, too - "but I need to take care of a couple more things before we go inside." 

"Yeah," Hector said blankly, nodding. "Yeah, we'll form up and be ready."

Gathering reports from the Heroes as they caught their breath, Kiran learned that most of the Emblian rank-and-file had surrendered following Sanaki's proclamation, and that most of the Heroes commanding them had either already been defeated or couldn't be found (meaning, probably waiting inside). Only Narcian remained, stubborn but ultimately helpless against the Order's much greater numbers. The battle outside was soundly and safely won. Only Veronica remained. Knowing this, she began unsummoning Heroes to grant them rest; she would leave Eliwood and Minerva's units outside, and take Hector and Lyn's in with her. 

Most of the others were still very combat-ready, but because of the way Breidablik worked, Kiran specifically wanted them unsummoned and on standby. If they remained armed and just took a breather, Kiran could summon them in on an instant's notice, thus only bringing Heroes that had immediate impact after she knew exactly what talents she needed at what time, plus the tiny advantage of just a little bit of rest. 

The only exception Kiran allowed was Sanaki. She approached the Apostle, but only hesitantly, and she conceded silently when Sanaki glared at her. They didn't need to exchange words; Sanaki would not be satisfied until her home was safe. That was clear by now.

So that meant that the Whitewings, along with Florina and Shanna, remained in the skies, while Eliwood, the Altean cavalry, Stahl, and Frederick hovered near the entrance. Coming inside with Kiran of course were Sharena, Sanaki and Kagero, Mist and the Herons, Hector with Effie and Lukas behind him, and Lyn, Roy, and Fir. Notably absent was Anna - who Kiran asked to remain outside, to act as an officer in case of emergency. Anna seemed unpreturbed, even rather glad, and Kiran wasn't really sure how to feel about that. 

But she put it out of her mind. Sharena clutched her spear nervously in both hands ahead of her; behind her, Leanne unravelled the bundle and held the bare Medallion in her hands, regarding it with a dark understanding painted on her ashen face. Their attention turned now to the task ahead, leaving the scarred fortress around them behind. Winning the battle had been the easy part.

The part where they summon one god to chain another, that was going to be the hard part.


	7. Chapter 7

The keep's gate was so thoroughly ruined that it required some amount of climbing to reach the floor of the entry hall - there must have been some stairs there at one point that were now scattered molten brick. Ahead of them torches had fallen from their sconces, paintings from their hooks, but otherwise the estate seemed mostly intact. They gathered at the door to the main hall, Hector ensuring everyone was ready in protective formation around Kiran before bashing it open with a shoulder charge.

He raised his axe swiftly as the doors burst open. There was no immediate attack, but he didn't seem to relax; carefully he advanced, bellowing: "Looks like you've got quite the welcome party here!"

Kiran's guard carefully filed in ahead of her, still forming their barrier as she and Sharena got their chance to take in the room before them once they were through the doorway. The main hall was both broad and long, with great staircases on the far sides of the room leading up to a balcony that jutted out from the far wall. Standing at the center of that balcony was Veronica; in one hand was Elivagar, open and waiting, and in the other Kiran noted a staff half-obscured behind her robes. That was already worrying; Kiran had not yet seen her using one, but if she knew how to use them well... 

But it only got worse as Kiran took in the rest of the room. Standing directly below her was Xander; on his right stood Zelgius, and on his left Zephiel. In front of them, Ike and Soren. 

"What is this?" Veronica said softly, her voice hoarse and cracked, her eyes narrowing - Kiran imagined the Herons had just entered behind her. "What are they doing here?" 

"Turns out these Heroes aren't just your puppets anymore," Hector shouted, grinning. 

"This madness has to end, Veronica," Lyn added, her voice sharp and cold. "Whatever you've done to these people and their world, we won't let it happen again. Got it?!" 

"This world belongs to us!" Mist cried, pointing her staff. 

"This world belongs to _me_ ," Veronica sneered. "You're - " She coughed - "You're children acting out, nothing more!"

"That's a bit weird when you say it," Kiran said carefully. "Ike? Soren?" 

"You have the medallion," Ike said slowly - Kiran wasn't sure whether or not it was a question, but regardless, Leanne raised it in her fist behind Kiran. 

"What?" Veronica gasped, clearly taken aback. "What is that? How did you get that?"

"What's your angle on this?" Soren murmured, addressing Kiran. "Convenience?"

"Now's not the time to worry," Ike chided. "You know what we have to do."

Soren sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yes, I do." He and Ike turned, in unison, to face Veronica instead - Ike with his sword still raised, and Soren whipping open his tome. Veronica stared at them aghast. "Really?" Soren growled. " _Now_ you're surprised?"

"You're making a mistake," Xander warned. "You can't stand against us." 

"Maybe we can't," Ike agreed. "But they sure can." 

Leanne shouted something angry and triumphant across the room - Sharena grinned and Veronica glared at her, but regardless, she straightened herself facing Veronica directly, flaring her wings, and began to sing. The galdr's first note shook the building as though it were a shockwave, dousing everything in strange light, faintly masking every sound. There was no mistaking the power of this song - a countdown until all hell broke loose, and the coming of Veronica's end.

"Hector, Lyn, this should be real simple," Kiran barked. "Keep the Herons safe. Kagero - " 

"You want me to free Alfonse," Kagero said shortly, already beside her. "Not a problem, ma'am." 

"That's good, because I wasn't looking forward to figuring out how to get past those three." Kiran let out a nervous chuckle; as Kagero disappeared again Kiran returned her attention to Veronica, who was still staring at the situation in front of her with increasing shock and worry. 

"You could come quietly," Sanaki offered, taking her position in front of the Herons. "What's the expression? 'Face the music'?"

"I didn't know you liked puns," Kiran said blankly, turning to her. Sanaki glared at her in false contempt. 

"I won't be stopped by this," Veronica whispered, shaking her head. "I won't. I don't know what you're planning, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter! Xand--" She coughed again, bracing against the railing - "Xander," she rasped, "what are you waiting for!? Destroy them!" 

 

Ike was the first to move - lunging at Zelgius, occupying the Black Knight himself. Xander tried to lunge into Soren, but Soren backed away too fast, and Lyn was upon him in the next moment. Hector tried to impose himself on Zephiel, but the Liberator was much faster and the weight of Exaccus enough to smash his defense; Hector staggered back in shock, clearly surprised to face an enemy as physically strong as he. 

Veronica's dark magic lanced through the air next, a crackling bolt of energy that morphed at the last moment to a series of orbs that moved in swirling patterns - one disrupted by a razor wind from Soren, and another washed away in Sanaki's fire. Veronica cast far too fast for them to find an opening, however, and in between her spells she somehow found time to raise her staff as well, materializing footsoldiers beneath the balcony to rush them. Within seconds the room was engulfed in melee, while Sanaki, Soren, and the Princess of Embla duelled with magic in air above them. 

The galdr made everything sound muffled and weak, far away. It felt like Kiran wasn't really watching the fight. Like she was just... here, by mistake, by coincidence. Like she could just walk away, like... she _should_ walk away. It was a strange feeling, and after all that had happened to get here, not at all comfortable - she turned to Sharena, who still tried to look fierce and ready to leap to Kiran's defense, but her legs were shaking and her eyes were wide. Maybe she was afraid, but more likely... she was startled. Startled by the song. By the shrillness to Veronica's voice, the way it was the only sound that seemed capable of cutting through the song... 

But that didn't matter. The Galdr of Release was not long. They needed only seconds. 

They only needed... seconds.

Veronica shouted something in alarm, and in the next moment there was an opening in the fighting - Kagero forced herself through, and just behind her was Alfonse. Kiran should have been relieved, but Alfonse's face - she didn't have time to process the expression, to understand what it was, she just knew it was not what it should have been, and in that moment she realized she recognized the feeling that flooded the room and pulsed in beat with Leanne's voice. A feeling of panic. A feeling that something horrible was just about to happen. 

Maybe if she'd known just a bit sooner she could have stopped it. 

Sharena screamed in shock - Kagero had whipped out a dagger and smashed it against Fensalir's handle, not attacking Sharena directly so much as batting her aside. Alfonse rushed by Kiran, drawing Folkvangr. Leanne's voice faltered as Kiran turned around. The spell wavered, disrupted, but for just another beat, its effects remained intact - 

Until Alfonse reached her, plunging his sword directly into her chest. 

 

The song, once beautiful and haunting and perfect, ended all at once as though Leanne's bloodcurdling scream had woken them all simultaneously from a dream. Many voices arose just after Leanne's - Kiran couldn't pick out any of them, she couldn't move or really even think, she just watched as Reyson scurried away in horror, as Lehran's Medallion tumbled from Leanne's fingers and clattered against the floor, its gray flames still as vibrant as ever - as Alfonse drew his sword out from her, and she collapsed in a rapidly-swelling pool of crimson - 

Sharena's whispered voice, in a sudden and shocking total silence, was the first Kiran could actually hear: "A-Alfonse...?" 

Alfonse turned to Reyson next, his beady eyes wild - Reyson shouted something indistinct, furious and powerless, and in his anger Kiran found the will to act. Had Breidablik been a true firearm she would have shot Alfonse where he stood without so much as a second thought, but instead she could only summon, and as she gripped the weapon and concentrated on the orb in its chamber she chose a Hero bound to its energy - a hero she could trust to do as she asked without question even in such a catastrophic situation - Eirika.

The Restoration Queen burst forth in red light as Kiran fired; she drew Sieglinde before her vision had even fully cleared, but faltered upon finding herself staring down the Prince of Askr. "Detain him!" Kiran roared; Eirika flinched, but lunged in, pressing Alfonse's guard and deftly forcing him to turn sideways before shoving him against the wall there. He had hesitated - she had not. Only then did she process the blood on his blade, her eyes growing wide. 

"What is this?" Eirika gasped. "What is going on?" 

"Stop this!" Alfonse shouted. "Let me go!" He pushed back against Eirika, his physical strength greater than hers - but Kiran shouted for her to step back, she did so, and in her place Corrin stomped in; without transforming she threw her entire body into a punch aimed at Alfonse's stomach, plowing him backwards into the wall so hard he bounced off of it and staggered into her arms. She smashed his sword from his hands and pinned him against the wall herself. 

"Oh gods," Eirika breathed, quivering, as she took in the scene before her. "Oh gods, what happened? T-The medallion - " She rushed forward to try to take it; Reyson's shouted warning reached her before Kiran's did, and she stopped and turned around bewildered. 

" _SOMEONE GET THE FIRE EMBLEM,_ " Veronica screeched. For a moment the fighting began again in the hall's center, but Kiran could already sense its outcome; the Order's sense of unity and purpose was all at once gone. Ike had already smashed Effie aside to stomp towards them, shouting something at Kiran, but Kiran couldn't really hear it. She was beside herself, unable to process what was happening except to stagger vaguely away from the fight, still staring at Alfonse; in her periphery Sharena yelled and tried to jump in Ike's path, a desperate cry answering Ike's words, Mist hurrying in beside her. It was chaos, and Kiran cared about none of it, not in that moment. 

"Why," she seethed. "What did you do that for?! _Kagero?!_ " She whirled around - but Kagero was pinning Soren, out of her reach. "Didn't she explain - ?"

"You were going to free a god!" Alfonse shouted back at her. "Why would you - ?"

"We were going to _seal Veronica away,_ " Kiran shouted back. "We were going to stop this world from being destroyed! Something you notably failed to tell us was going to happen at all!" 

"You can't stop it from happening," Alfonse protested, shoving against Corrin - but Corrin was far stronger and heavier than Eirika. "Get her off of me! Get OFF!"

"No," Corrin snarled. 

"Corrin, take him outside," Kiran whispered, shaking. Eirika yelped in panic - Kiran thought Ike was getting to her, but that wasn't what had happened at all. She saw Eirika try to parry a second blow from a hulking shadow - Zephiel - but the sheer force of it staggered her, and it was only Sharena's desperate lunge to push her out of the way that saved her from being bisected by his next attack. Exaccus still carved through Sharena as they tumbled to the floor - the princess let out a horrible cry of pain - but Kiran's eyes were on Zephiel as he bore down on her, getting closer - she raised Breidablik, her arm trembling - 

Corrin hurtled over Kiran's shoulder, transforming as she stood before the Liberator, but she could only halt his progress for a moment's time; she should have been able to gouge him or shove him aside but he stood firm in her path, as Hector and Lyn were being pushed back on either side. Only Sanaki was left to occupy Veronica's attention, and her spells were starting to override the Apostle's. Mist was cowering behind Ike now; Veronica's soldiers had grabbed Reyson in the chaos, restraining him easily; Eirika was helping Sharena to stand, staring back at Kiran in horror, desperate for instructions, for anything. 

Kiran had to retreat. She couldn't reach Veronica with the armored generals in her path. If they continued to advance, she'd be crushed. Retreat meant giving up the Fire Emblem. Giving up the Fire Emblem meant defeat. 

For a moment her mind strained against that conclusion, but as Corrin cried out in pain, forced back to human form and staggering away from Zephiel, as Eirika and Sharena hobbled backwards from Zelgius' advance - maybe there was a way to win this but Kiran didn't have time to find it. Her only real shot was to grab the Medallion, hope nothing horrible happened, and _then_ retreat - 

But turning back, she couldn't see it. Had someone already taken it? Or was it just... hidden in Leanne's blood... her stomach lurched - she looked away - no, she just had to run. She just... 

"F-Fall back," she managed to choke out. The words sounded foreign to her throat. But Eirika carried her shout for her. Just like that, it was over. 

Veronica didn't chase them outside - she didn't need to. She had already won. 

 

Kiran didn't need to give any orders; she staggered to the wall to catch her breath as soon as she stepped outside, and by the time she'd turned around, Hector had already grabbed Alfonse by his collar and hoisted him well off the ground. Sharena was weakly asking them to stop - Anna was running over from the square shouting the same in a much louder, more panicked voice. 

"What was that?!" Hector roared. "We had that battle won! We were going to stop Veronica without destroying this world and you _ruined_ it!"

"You were going to summon a god," Alfonse spat back, "that would have granted Veronica the power to make her forces invincible, _in addition_ to endless. She would crush Askr and control every world beyond our gates."

"How do you know that?" Lyn protested. "Nobody seemed to understand what was going on with the medallion, how could you have more information than Mist or the bird people?"

"Kiran," Alfonse shouted, glaring at her. "Kiran, you know. You HAVE to know. Who was that in the Fire Emblem?"

"It wasn't Yune," Kiran said slowly.

"Yes," Alfonse agreed, "it could only have been one other entity, so if it wasn't Yune, who was it?"

...Ashera. 

"You don't know for sure that Ashera would have been hostile," Kiran protested. 

"That doesn't matter," Alfonse growled, "because of the way these worlds work. Veronica is creating them -- " Anna caught up to them just then; Alfonse wormed about in Hector's grip, glaring down at her. "Did you not explain this to them!?" 

"Hector, please put Prince Alfonse down," Anna panted. 

"Why should I?!" Hector snapped. "He basically betrayed us!"

"I'm your employer," Alfonse roared, "that doesn't make any sense!" 

"Hector," Kiran sighed, "he's not going anywhere, put him down." 

Hector dropped him. Alfonse stumbled to full height, brushing himself off, before turning his attention to Kiran, stomping over to her - Lyn and Eirika followed along, clearly both still nervous, and that made Kiran nervous, too. 

"Veronica is almost certainly using Elivagar to create the world she draws Heroes from," Alfonse hissed, gesturing emphatically as he spoke. "They're bound to a particular facet of the power of the Emblian royal bloodline that has to do with guardianship of the material worlds from outside threats. The tome can create twisted copies of the original world to trap outsiders in, and the inhabitants of those worlds are bound to the will of the bearer of Elivagar, but so is the world itself."

"Right," Kiran snapped, folding her arms, "so if you push her out or kill her, the world will fade, but if you somehow restrain her without killing her or stopping her from powering the worlds she's made - " 

"Kiran, you can't save these worlds," Alfonse interrupted. "Everything in these worlds exist to serve her. It's their entire purpose. I assume you were trying to seal her in the Emblem? Because it would probably just shatter, or she'd just continue to project her power through it. Just because she was too weak to control everything at once doesn't mean she doesn't still have control, Kiran."

Kiran closed her eyes slowly, taking a deep breath, letting this wash over her. "Fine," she muttered, "fine, so for whatever reason, you believe that our plan wouldn't have worked. Maybe you're right, I don't care. You killed Leanne. What the fuck was -- " 

"There was no time!" Alfonse shouted, but his voice cracked at the end; Kiran recognized that voice, and withdrew some. "Kiran," he cried, "if the Galdr of Release was completed, you'd have summoned a version of Ashera that is bound to obey Veronica's will. It might take her a few hours, or days, or weeks, or even years to fully gain control over her, but once that happened -- "

"And we can't find a way to stop her before then?!" Kiran barked. "Are we that powerless, or did you just give up without _thinking_ about how to save these people?!" 

"Kiran," Alfonse sighed, "you don't -- "

"What was your line of thinking," Kiran cried. "that we just have to destroy anything Veronica touches because _she_ doesn't know how to take care of them?! Is that enough for you to just turn your back on the _five other worlds_ we've fucking _torched_?!" 

"You don't know how this works!" Alfonse shouted. "You - "

"I don't _care_ how _you_ think it works!" Kiran shrieked, arms spread wide, voice cracking at its seams. "I won't be complicit in the destruction of _any_ worlds, no matter who _thinks_ they own them!" 

"Kiran," Anna said, jumping in, an arm raised defensively as though trying to soothe her. "Kiran, Alfonse has just been focused on trying to defend Askr. That's all we've had time for until you arrived."

"Defending Askr at the cost of entire worlds of innocent bystanders?!" 

"You're not understanding this," Alfonse sighed, rubbing his face. "Kiran, there are no innocent - "

"Mist rode to us and _cried_ because she knew her world was going to die!" Kiran exclaimed. "She didn't want to keep fighting us, she wanted her world to go back to normal! From her perspective we're the invaders just as much as Veronica is, Alfonse! Except if _Veronica_ wins at least they get to live another day, but if _we_ win -- "

"If Veronica wins," Alfonse roared, "she enslaves every Material world and _no one_ gets a happy ending! That can't be allowed to happen, Kiran!" 

They paused. Kiran was out of breath. Alfonse was out of breath. Eirika and Lyn and Hector, and the other members of their units, were watching in a semicircle. They looked defeated. They looked heartbroken. Kiran could feel her own tears coming, but out of pride held them back. Alfonse lowered his head into his hand, digging into his scalp.

"Look," he sighed, looking up again, "I get it, Kiran. I asked you before and you admitted that you weren't loyal to Askr. I don't ask for that."

"Answer to Sanaki, then," Kiran hissed, her voice shaking. "And when we reach Renais you can explain yourself to Eirika, who pledged herself to you even though she has a kingdom to rebuild, and when we reach Jugdral you can explain yourself to Julia and Seliph, too." Alfonse did not respond to her; he pursed his lips, watching evenly, silent. "How can you look any of them in the face?" Kiran pressed. "What makes this path any better from their perspective than Veronica's? What reason do they have to follow me over her? How can you be satisfied with making them choose between slavery and oblivion?" 

" _Your_ Heroes don't have to make any choice," Alfonse growled. "And Veronica's had their choice made for them. It's cruel, but - "

"It's cruel," Kiran interrupted angrily, "and we must stop it, and we _will_ stop it! I'm not going to accept some half-hearted moral dichotomy, Alfonse, I'm serious! If I'm going to be a part of the Order of Heroes, I'm not going to let _any_ worlds get destroyed!" 

Alfonse hesitated, watching her face, scanning her eyes, rapidly at first but slowly calming. At length he sighed heavily, then nodded. "Okay," he said simply, unnervingly quiet. "Okay. I'll remember that." 

Then he turned and walked away. Kiran blinked, glancing at Anna, who was evading her gaze. 

"You did good," the Commander said faintly. "Just remember, you can't win 'em all. But I appreciate what you've done for us regardless." 

"At least their world isn't destroyed _yet_ ," Kiran murmured back. Anna scoffed, and nodded; she wrapped her arm under Sharena's shoulders, helping her hobble away in the same direction as Alfonse. Kiran sighed heavily, and faced the other heroes. 

Most of them couldn't look at her. Corrin had sat down, rubbing her temples, her shoulders trembling; Eirika sat beside her, one hand delicately resting on her shoulder, and Roy was watching her with an expression of discomfort. Lyn's eyes were closed, arms folded loosely. Fir was pacing behind them a ways. Lukas approached Kiran hesitantly, clapping her gently on the arm. "I appreciate what you've done," he said softly. "I'm sure everyone from our world would feel the same."

"Yes," Sanaki said softly, sighing heavily. Her arms were folded, eyes slowly opening, to refocus on her. "Thank you, Imperial Tactician," she said softly. "For all that you've done. I can only hope that the Prince comes around before any more tragedy befalls us." 

"I'm going to unsummon everyone," Kiran said faintly. "You... you should all get plenty of rest. I'll see you back in Crimea." 

"Hey," Hector said quietly. "Maybe this is a bad time, but, where's Eliwood?" 

Kiran blinked, looking around the square, as Anna and the royals were still crossing it. No cavalry there, and the skies were empty, too. "They must have gathered at the gate," Kiran murmured, shaking her head. "You all good to go back?"

"Don't hesitate to summon us again if something happens," Hector murmured. Lyn nodded beside him. 

"Please stay safe," Eirika agreed. Kiran sighed and nodded, returning them to their anchor point one by one, before turning and jogging down the broken staircase to catch up with the others. 

 

"You took your time in getting here," Veronica murmured, glaring.

Micaiah's visage smirked, but Veronica was beginning to understand the face beneath the illusions in a vague sense. Such a smile surely wouldn't belong on the true Maiden of Dawn. "Business ran long," the trickster said sweetly. "You know how it can be." Her smile faded, however, as she turned to look out over the ruins of Mugill. "We certainly have lost a great deal of ground," she admitted sourly. "Perhaps it's best we seal this one off for a bit." 

"If we close the gate from here," Veronica murmured, "we will never be able to attack from the world of Radiance again." 

"That may be for the best," she repeated. "I happen to know that the Order of Heroes will be leaving this world, whether they like it or not, so we'll have our chance before too long. I understand how you feel, but we will need a good deal of time to build our forces up again, no?" 

Veronica frowned. Was that true? Was that safe? Ever since discovering her mysterious benefactor's true identity - or at least that she was a shapeshifting entity named Loki, and not the person whose shape she took at whatever moment - she found it difficult to trust her with anything anymore. And yet she seemed to know so much, to be aware of things that Veronica would not have survived without... 

She heard someone clearing their throat behind them, and turned slowly to face the voice. "Soren," she said softly; the sage bowed, daggers burning bright in his eyes. "Why are you here?"

"I believe," Soren hissed through a clenched jaw, "it is my responsibility to deliver the after-action reports, as usual?" 

"So it is," Veronica hummed. Now that she had her divine authority back, everyone was fulfilling the roles she had asked of them. She had forgotten to strip Soren of _all_ of his duties, it seemed. "Go on." 

"Despite extensive Emblian injuries," Soren continued, "the Greil Mercenaries and most of your Heroes will recover without incident, and Mist is working on healing whoever she can from the Emblian forces. In day's time or so, the losses will be reduced to around forty Emblian soldiers." 

"That's quite a few," Loki observed idly. 

"Take off Micaiah's mask," Soren snapped. "It's disrespectful." 

"Am I so easily seen through?" She transformed, however, now taking Ike's appearance. "There. Is that better?"

"Marginally," Soren seethed. "Will that be all, ma'am?"

Veronica hesitated. Something strange was bothering her. Needling her.

"Why do you hate me?" she asked softly. 

Soren scoffed. "Is that a real question?" Veronica nodded, slowly and seriously; Soren's eyebrows arched, and he paced away a few steps, hands clasped behind his back. "Well," he growled, "we can begin with the fact that you marched into our world and demanded our allegiance without so much as pretending to negotiate or petition, and because you have divine authority we don't get to argue. There's also the fact that you have thrown away the lives of the people that are following you rather needlessly, particularly by seizing command from me to _lose_ battles we should have already _won._ "

"I see," Veronica said numbly. 

"In summary," Soren continued, turning around again, "you are the bane of our existence, will drive us all to our deaths or worse, and aren't the least bit sorry about it. I would say those are all good reasons to hate you." 

"My," Loki murmured, "someone isn't afraid to speak their mind."

"Very well." Veronica inclined her head. "You are dismissed." 

He bowed his head back, still glaring, then turned to leave. "So," Loki hummed. "Best we wait for the Order to leave, but once they have... shall we close it?" 

Ah. No closer to answering the original question. Veronica frowned for a moment - before turning around sharply to face Soren again. "Tactician," she called. Soren stiffened, and turned around slowly. "One last question," she said. "We will need some time to gather our forces before making another attack on Askr. As you said previously, small raids won't accomplish much unless the Order is dealt with, and they've proven very tenacious."

"So they have," Soren said icily. "Your question?"

"If we seal the gate from this side," Veronica continued, "they won't be able to attack us, but we won't be able to attack them. We will have to reveal a pathway from another world to advance. Do you think we should close it?"

Soren frowned. He chewed his lip. 

"Yes," he said softly. "We'll be vulnerable if we don't, and we can't afford vulnerability right now." 

"I see," Veronica hummed, sighing with relief. "You are dismissed." 

"You're welcome," Soren muttered, taking his leave. Veronica turned to Loki, and nodded. 

"Deferring to one of your Heroes?" Loki cooed. "Losing your nerve?"

"I won't take lip from the likes of you," Veronica hissed. "If you've got what you wanted, get out of my sight." 

 

Eliwood and Minerva were indeed at the gate. As were several dozen knights in gold-white armor, bearing the standard of Askr. 

"What?" Sharena whispered, as they came into view. "What is... why...?" 

Alfonse took the lead, and lowered himself to a knee ahead of them. Kiran blinked, realizing someone was approaching them - towering and regal, his armor styled in much the same way as the royals', with golden scales and pauldrons with swirling ribbon patterns. Anna carefully helped Sharena onto a knee, too. Kiran decided she had probably better follow suit.

"Rise," the man intoned. 

"Father," Alfonse sighed, as they complied and turned their eyes to him again. "I understand the meaning of your presence. I will accept whatever consequences you deem necessary." 

The King hummed his acknowledgement, nodding slowly. "That has yet to be determined," he rumbled. "The lot of you are to return to Askr immediately. The Order of Heroes has been suspended as of this moment."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Normally I like to wait until I have a bit more than just one part of a series to release at a time, but I wound up enjoying writing this so much that I wanted to share it a bit early! I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> I'm a good ways through the next part (which is just an intermission) so hopefully that can come soon, too. I feel like I have more to say but I honestly don't feel super great this morning so I guess it will have to wait. ;-; 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


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